The Untold Story of Carol Danvers
by howlerdrode
Summary: This is the story of Ms Marvel and how her powers came about. The story will follow her exploits and her adventures including adventures with the X-men characters. Rating is for safety and future chapters may see rating change. There will be some violen
1. A Tragic Beginning

****

Hello, everyone. I have decided to embark on a new story. This story purports to tell the story of one Ms. Marvel, aka Binary and Warbird. I hope you all like it. this story was suggested by my friend, Heartsyhawk, who noticed a strange resemblance between Ms. Marvel and a Kryptonian character from DC, Kara El, aka Super Girl. I hope you like it. Also, here is my disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics, DC comics, Super Girl or Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, or Warbird.

__

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

Chapter One: A TRAGIC BEGINNING

Our story begins on a planet far, far away. This planet is larger than Jupiter and orbits a large red sun. There are several moons in orbit around this planet. Its inhabitants are highly advanced in their civilization. They are united as one planet. Many of their cities are completely crime free. Poverty is largely unknown to its inhabitants. It's capital city covers one quarter of the populated area of the planet. The planet is Krypton.

In Kandor, a young couple was headed to the chancellor's office. They were seeking permission to marry. The young man was Zor-El, the younger brother of the most powerful man on the science council, Jor-El. His bride to be was named Allura. She was a very pretty young woman. There was no doubt that she was in love with Zor-El. They were eagerly looking forward to being married. At the chancellor's office the happy couple began to fill out the mountain of paperwork required for their marriage. Finally, they came to the end and were waiting for the interview. The interview was the final step before their license was granted. They had planned to take their honeymoon in Argo City. That is also where they planned to make their home. Zor-El had a position lined up at Krypton University. He was going to be teaching Kryptonian Science. Allura was looking forward to being a homemaker. Her goal was to have many children and to be the best mom possible. After several hours at the Chancellor's office, the happy couple realized their dream and was married.

Fast-forward one year later. Allura looked at her husband. "Zor, it is time," the pretty woman said. "Our baby will be here soon. I need to get to the maternity unit." Just then, she felt a stab of pain surge through her. She started to fall but Zor caught her. Quickly, the couple made their way to the antigrav disk to go to the maternity unit. Another contraction shot through Allura. "What is going on in there," she thought. "It feels like there is an army fighting inside me." A few minutes later, they were at the maternity unit at Van-El Center. Allura was whisked into the birthing unit and quickly sedated. Zor-El made his way to the father place. According to Kryptonian custom, all new fathers had to undergo specialized training in order to better understand what their wives were going through. This training lasted for three days and they did not get to see their children until the training was over. This training encompassed many different things, from supporting the children and wife to changing diapers and feeding. Kryptonian fathers were expected to do everything for the new mothers and infants.

Allura was unconscious when her time came to deliver her baby. Unbeknownst to her, she had been carrying twin girls. Twins were an extreme rarity on Krypton. Many people thought twins were a punishment by Rao. Usually, when twins were detected one would have been aborted. In Allura's case they went undetected through out her pregnancy. When the doctor saw there were two babies, he decided to keep one for himself. He and his wife were childless. When he saw the two girls, his heart melted and he knew what he had to do. The child that he hid, he and his wife named her Kiral. This is her story.

Dr. Kim-Da and his wife Won-Da lived in Kandor. It was there that he raised the child named Kiral. Kiral was a beautiful girl with golden blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. At an early age, the girl showed flashes of being a prodigy. She was walking and talking by age one. She was able to read and write the Kryptonian alphabet by age two. In her playgroup she was the adorable yet precocious leader of a group of kids. They called themselves the War Birds, an interesting choice by Kiral, since war had largely been eliminated on Krypton at this time. Shortly before Kiral turned three, her mother, Won, was killed by a person who had just been released from the phantom zone. This had a profound effect on the young girl. She became much more withdrawn and introspective. One day she heard a report from the leader of the Science Council about a villainous android from the planet of Colu. This android had been traversing their galaxy and stealing cities from the various planets he visited. It was believed that he was heading for Krypton. All residents were urged to remain calm. It seemed that some members of the Science Council wanted to negotiate with this villain in order to save Krypton the indignity of losing one of its cities. At the same time, Jor-El, also a member of the Science Council, was warning the residents of Krypton about an impending explosion which was going to destroy Krypton.

"Father, what is going on?" Kiral asked.

Dr. Kim-Da looked at his beautiful daughter. "Many people believe that Jor-El is crazy, Kiral. However, I have worked with this man. He may be right about Krypton's impending doom. Jor-El wants to use space arks to evacuate our home. Unfortunately with the destruction of Wegthor by that rogue scientist, Jax-Ur, Space travel has been banned. No one is allowed to come here or to use missiles from here into space."

"What about this android, this Brainiac? What will happen if he comes here?"

"Don't worry about that, Kiral. Braniac would never try to steal Kandor," her father reassured her. "It is believed that if he takes a city, it will likely be Kryptonopolis or Argo. Kandor is just too big. Our government will protect us."

Kiral looked at her father with trust and understanding. She had been reassured that they were safe from Braniac. Just then, there was a large rumbling and the land shook beneath their feet. Several buildings were swaying with the quake. Soon the rumbling stopped. "These Krypton quakes seem to be getting worse, father."

"Yes, Kiral, they are. That is why I have secretly been building a spaceship for us to leave Krypton in the next couple of days. I believe the time is growing short. We will need to get prepared."

The next couple of days were filled with intense preparation. Kiral and her father were constantly training for their trip into space. They knew that their activities were illegal and could get them banished into the phantom zone for a very long stretch. Still they continued to prepare both individually and collectively. The day they were supposed to depart, the weather was bad and they had to delay their departure for several hours. Dr Lon Da was glad that his daughter was such a prodigy at this time because she seemed to pick up everything so well. Since their trip was delayed, he decided to take her out to dinner in their favorite Kandorian restaurant. They had just returned home and were about to get into their spacesuits when their communication beacon went off. Negotiations with Brainiac had broken off and he was heading directly for Krypton. Government Forces were taking to the skies in Argo and Kryptonopolis. The alarms also began to sound in Kandor. Soon the skies began to darken as Kandor Defense fighters took to the skies, blocking out the stars. All of a sudden, there were several flashes of light and several of the fighters were shot down. Now a very ominous shadow began to cross the evening sky. It was the biggest spaceship ever seen over Kandor. Kiral had gotten into her spacesuit and was inside the spaceship. At that very moment, she saw her father being arrested by Kandorian authorities. Quickly, she closed the spaceship and sealed the cockpit. Then she fired up the launch sequence. She figured her father was going to be put in the phantom zone and she knew she had to escape. As her ship cleared the launch bay, she looked back at her home for the last time. Just then, she saw a giant blue ray beam come from the giant spaceship. It completely covered the city. Kiral had just escaped the city limits and was just about out of the atmosphere when her home was literally ripped from Kryptonian soil and pulled upwards towards the massive spaceship. It was shrinking as it was pulled into the sky. The young girl began to weep at the sight. The evil android, Brainiac was stealing Kandor. She was all-alone in outer space. She could not go home if she wanted to. There was no longer a home to go to. Sadly, the girl engaged the autopilot. Her father had programmed a course for a small blue green planet about 50 light years from Krypton. She also set the suspended animation process into motion. This process would take two Kryptonian days to complete. Her ship had cuts its main engines in order to conserve fuel for the trip. Only booster engines were being used to keep the ship's course true. It appeared that her ship was drifting but it was not. The next day, Kiral was beginning to get sleepy. As luck would have it, her windows were aimed back at Krypton. As she looked back at her home planet for the last time, the unthinkable happened. There was a blinding flash of light and then a series of explosions ripped apart the planet. All of the radioactive gasses pent up at the core of the planet were released at once, causing the fragments of what once was the proud world of Krypton to turn an emerald green. The explosion caused her rocket and one other small rocket launched from Kryptonopolis to be forcibly propelled towards earth.

****

Well what do you think? Like it or hate it? Please tell me. This is my first solo fanfic and I look forward to your reviews, positive or negative. I hope you enjoy. Also, this story is a companion story to End of the World but is not reliant on that one. Se the blue button at the bottom of the page...read and Review please.


	2. The Orphanage

**__**

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

Chapter two: the orphanage

As her rocket glided towards Earth, Kiral found herself getting sleepy. It was the suspended animation process taking effect. The girl was soon asleep as the miles lessened to her destination. Soon she entered the sol solar system. Her ship moved past Pluto and Saturn. Next it passed Jupiter and Mars. As the ship approached Earth, a learning program kicked in. This program began to teach the young Kryptonian about life on earth as it had been observed from Krypton. She had just started to awaken when her ship entered the Earth's atmosphere. Her rate of trajectory put her into the Northern Hemisphere. Kiral watched as the lights of a northern city came into view in the darkness of the Earth night. Her ship, built on krypton, had become virtually indestructible as it hurtled through the night sky. Kiral saw a clearing in an area surrounded by a large forest. This was a strange planet. Where as the trees on her native Krypton were a lovely shade of green, the trees on this world were a dingy brown and sparkling white or a shimmering clear. The ground was also white. Kiral brought her ship in for a landing in this clearing. As she began to shut down the systems and prepared to disembark from her vessel, she could feel the cold begin to seep into the craft. Kiral was dressed in her light spacesuit. It was not really insulated for a Northern New England winter. Kiral shivered as she checked her surface temperature gauge in her craft. Fortunately her father had programmed the scales in Kelvin's, universally used in space as well as the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales used on earth. The temperature at her landing site showed -10 degrees Fahrenheit. The young girl wrapped herself in a bright green and yellow blanket with her family crest emblazoned on it. The crest looked like a round circle on a green background with the Kryptonian symbol for the house of Da emblazoned on it. This blanket allowed her to warm up so she was comfortable. Kiral engaged the cloaking device on her ship so that she would be invisible to any passer bys during the night. Then she went to sleep for the night. Several hours later, the sun streaming into her ship awakened Kiral. It was considerably warmer to her than when she had first landed. Quietly, she made her way into the cabin area of her ship and changed to some warm leggings and her pretty green tunic. She had decided to put on her zweler fur coat to keep warm. Kiral made her way out of the ship. She was walking along when she bumped into two people, Joseph and Marie Danvers. These people looked at the young girl and decided to take her home. The young couple had just found out they could not have children of their own and were thrilled to have her around. Joseph Danvers was employed by one of the Luther Corp subsidiaries in the Boston area as a systems engineer. After a few days, Joseph and Marie decided to take the child to a local orphanage and then begin the process for adoption. They explained how the young girl was found in the Boston Common, near Quincy Market. She had not said a word since they had found her and brought her home. They had watched the news for several days in order to find out if someone was missing a young four year old girl but nothing turned up either at the local police or on the news. A young woman named Angela Lilos took the girl into the orphanage. "Do you have a name, little girl?"

Kiral looked at the woman and said "My name is Kiral" in Interlac.

Angela looked at the girl. The only sound she recognized or thought she recognized was what sounded like Carol. "Carol, is it," she asked.

Kiral nodded. The strange language of Angela confused her but she knew that she was a stranger in a strange land. It would take a while for the young girl to be able to talk to these people.

Angela took the Kiral by the hand and led her to where a group of children were playing. "Hey kids, we have a new guest here. Can she play with you for a while? Oh and she does not speak English very well. Her name is Carol."

Kiral's eyes lit up when she saw the kids playing. She was reminded of the kids that she used to play with in Kandor. At first she was saddened by the fact that she would never see her friends again but then she was happy to have some new playmates. Kiral sat down with the group. Several of the kids were building a castle out of blocks. "Would you like to help us build a castle" One asked her, holding out some blocks?

Kiral was confused. She had never built a castle before. Finally, one of the kids took a block and stacked it on top of some others. Kiral was fascinated. She took a block and placed it on top of the others. Soon the kids were busily building a large tower of blocks. As often happens, the blocks became unwieldy and began to lean. A few moments later, the tower came crashing down. One of the blocks rolled under a nearby dresser. Carol reached for the block under the dresser. It was just out of her reach. Then an amazing thing happened. Kiral picked up the dresser to get the block. Once the block was safely in her little hands, she put the dresser back down. All of the other kids looked at Carol in amazement. She handed the block to a boy she had been playing with and they started to build another castle. One boy tried to move the heavy dresser himself. It would not budge. Soon, the other kids got bored with the blocks and began to play with a bouncy ball. Again, Kiral was confused. She had never seen a ball before. Finally a young girl showed her how to bounce the ball. Carol bounced the ball to the girl who bounced it to another girl. This girl bounced the ball to the boy who had tried to move the dresser. He bounced it back to Carol. They took turns bouncing the ball to each other. Soon it was getting dark outside and Angela came into the room. "It's time for bed, kids," she said. Carol was taken to a room with the other girls. Angela had found her a pair of green pajamas and put them on her. Then she tucked all of the girls into their beds and turned out the lights. "Good night, girls. Sleep tight."

Carol tossed and turned all night. The poor girl was bothered by a recurring nightmare. She kept seeing her father being arrested as Kandor was being stolen. She did not know what had happened to him. Then she saw her home world exploding into a billion fragments. What happened to Kandor, she would ask as she awoke. Then she would turn over and fall back asleep only to see the same nightmare again.

The next morning, Carol got to play outside with the kids. As they played on the playground, she saw a slide. One of the other kids climbed up the ladder and slid down the slide. It looked like fun so she climbed the ladder and pushed herself down it as well. After a few trips down the slide, she wandered over to where another girl was sitting on a swing. "Will you push me, Carol?" The girl asked. Carol was confused. She did not understand about pushing someone on a swing. Another girl came up and said to her, "I'll push you, Tabitha," she said. Carol watched as the other girl pushed Tabitha on the swing. Soon, she was soaring up high. Carol went over to an empty swing and sat down. The other girl began to push Carol as well. Tabitha watched as Carol was pushed in the swing. She slowed herself down and told Carol how to pump her feet so that she could go higher. Soon both girls were soaring in their swings. After a few moments, the two girls slowed down. Carol had a huge smile on her face.

"That was fun," she said in English. The other two girls looked at her in surprise. They remembered Ms Lilos telling them Carol did not speak English very well. Yet they heard her words very clearly.

The rest of the day the three girls were inseparable. "What is your name," Carol asked the girl who had pushed her on the swings.

"My name is Betsy," she replied.

"I want to thank you for pushing me on the swing, Betsy. I've never been on a swing before."

"Carol do you know you sound funny when you talk? Where did you live before you came here?" Asked Tabitha.

"Everybody sounds funny to me, Tabitha," Carol said. "I lived far away from here. In a city called Kandor." Carol's eyes began to water as she remembered her home. The tears rolled down the young girl's cheeks as she remembered the devastating explosion of her world.

"Are you all right?" Asked Betsy.

"Yes, I am okay," Carol replied, wiping her face. "I was just remembering my home city of Kandor. It is gone now and so is my family. That's why I'm here."

"All of us have lost our families, Carol," Tabitha said. "All of us are hoping to get adopted someday," she said sadly.

Carol was confused again. "What is dopted?" She asked.

Betsy grinned at her new friend. "That is when some people come and take you to live with them and give you a new family."

Carol looked deep in thought. "I hope we all get dopted, then," she said finally. "I miss my old family though."

All of a sudden, the day grew colder. Dark ominous clouds hid the Sun and suddenly white flakes began to fall from the sky. The kids all squealed in delight as the snow began to fall. The adults decided they did not want to allow their charges to get sick and began to usher them inside. Carol was surprised. "What is that white stuff falling from the sky," she asked her friends.

"You've never seen snow before, Carol?" Betsy asked incredulously. "Snow is what makes winter fun. It is cold and fluffy. Hopefully we can play in it tomorrow." 

After supper the kids were sent to bed. Again, Carol had the nightmares about her world exploding. She did not sleep very well that night.

The next day, there was an important visitor to the orphanage. It was Joseph Danvers. He wanted to start the adoption process for Carol. One of the requirements for adoption was the prospective parents had to spend a day with the person(s) they sought to adopt. He had decided to set up a time when he and his wife, Marie, could spend the day with Carol. He saw her playing with the other kids. She seemed to be doing well. Suddenly, he noticed something strange. The kids seemed to be playing tag in the snow. Carol started out being it. The girl easily caught the first boy within a few strides. However, when the other kids tried to catch her, they couldn't. She was too fast. The snow seemed to be melting wherever she ran. He watched the kids until it was time for them to come in for lunch. Joe also wanted to talk to the girl about being part of his family. He hoped that she would not be upset because he and his wife had brought her here. As soon as the kids had their lunch, Carol was called down to the main office to talk to Joe.

****

Well that is it for this chapter. What do you think? Like it or hate it, let me know. Use the review button.


	3. A New Adventure

****

Hello, again. I want to thank my reviewers. Eileen Blazer -you are the first reviewer. Heartsyhawk-I thank you as well. I hope you all enjoy the way I tell this story. This perspective is unique. Enjoy!

__

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER THREE: A NEW ADVENTURE

"You wanted to see me, Miss Lilos?" Carol asked when she arrived at the office. Then she noticed the man sitting at the desk waiting to talk to her.

"Carol you remember Mr. Danvers, don't you?" Angela asked. "He is here to talk to you about being part of his family. I am going to leave you and Mr. Danvers alone for a little while. I will be in the next room if you need me."

Carol looked at the man. He and his wife were the ones who had found her and brought her to the orphanage. Joe looked at the young girl before him. "It is good to see you again, Carol. Have you made any friends here?" He said, softly.

"Yes, I have made some friends. There are a couple of girls I play with, and sometimes a few of the boys will play with me too."

"I saw you playing in the snow before lunch. You seem to be able to run faster than any of the other kids can," Joe said to her. "My wife and I would like to take you to our house for a day. Would you like to do that, Carol?"

"That would be ok, I guess," she replied. Then with a smile that lit up her whole face, she asked him: "Mr. Danvers, can some of my friends come as well?"

Joe Danvers could see the excitement in her face as she asked him about bringing her friends as well. "If Ms. Lilos doesn't mind, then perhaps we can bring some of them as well," He said to her. "Have you ever been to the New England Aquarium, Carol?"

Carol shook her head. She wasn't sure what an aquarium was so she decided to be bold and ask him about it. "What is a quarium, Mr. Danvers?

Joe was surprised at her question. He did not realize that she was from another planet and had never experienced what many people on earth took for granted. He thought for a few minutes how best to describe what an aquarium is. "An aquarium is a place where different types of fishes and sea life are kept. The New England Aquarium is a fun place where they have seals that do tricks, penguins, sharks, turtles, and lots of different creatures found in the oceans of the world. There is also a giant movie theatre next door, as well as harbor tours where you can ride a boat around Boston Harbor," he told her. "Do you think you would like to see that?" He asked.

Carol nodded excitedly. "That sounds like a lot of fun, Mr. Danvers!" She exclaimed.

At that moment, Angela came back into the room. "How are we doing in here, Carol?" She asked. "Are you and Mr. Danvers getting along?"

"We have been talking about spending a day together" Joe answered. "Carol would like to know if we could take some of her friends with us when she comes to visit. I told her that if it is okay with you, we could takes some of them along as well."

Angela noticed the big smile on Carol's face. "That could probably be arranged," she replied. "Do you plan to take the children any place in particular, Mr. Danvers?"

"We have been talking about the New England Aquarium as a potential destination. I thought I would also take them to the giant movie theatre and on a harbor tour if the weather is nice and the boats are running."

"That sounds exciting. And whom did you have in mind to go with you, Carol?" Angela asked.

Carol was very excited. "I would like to take Betsy and Tabby with me as well as Mikey, He is really nice to me." She replied in perfect English. "He showed me how to build a castle with blocks," she said happily.

Angela was surprised by the way Carol spoke. Just a couple of days before, she seemed to be speaking a foreign language. Angela remembered how difficult she had been to understand. Now she was talking perfect English. She thought about it a bit. Many foreign kids were taught English at an early age. Maybe Carol just needed to get comfortable with her surroundings before she spoke English. Turning her attention back to Mr. Danvers, she asked, "When do you want to take these kids, Mr. Danvers?"

"I have already talked with my wife about this. Tomorrow is Saturday. Can we come get them about 9:00 in the morning. We will be making an all day affair of it and it may be quite late in the evening when we get back if that is okay with you," he replied.

"That will be fine. I'm here all the time anyway," Angela told him. "If it is after 10:00 pm, you just be sure to ring the bell and I will let you in." Turning to Carol, she said "Carol, you can go back to the playroom and join your friends. Mr. Danvers and I have some important things to discuss. You will have an exciting day tomorrow."

Carol jumped down from the chair she had been sitting in. Quickly, she ran to the door. Looking back at Joe, she said "Bye, Mr. Danvers. I can't wait until tomorrow." Then she ran out of the room and went back to find her friends.

"You have just made a little girl very happy, Mr. Danvers," Angela said to him when Carol was out of the room. "I must say you seem awfully brave, agreeing to bring four little kids to the Aquarium. Are you sure you are up to this?"

"Yes, I am sure," Joe answered. "And please call me Joe. Mr. Danvers makes me feel old. My wife and I are looking forward to taking these kids for the day. Is there any paperwork I need to fill out so that we can adopt Carol? I want to get this process started as soon as possible. Perhaps if things go well tomorrow, we may be able to adopt more than one of your children. I also have a few friends who might be willing to adopt some of your kids, too."

Angela was beaming. "That would be so wonderful. These kids really do need loving families to care about them." Then she went over to her file cabinet and pulled out a folder filled with papers. She put the name "Carol" across the index tab. "Here are the forms you need to fill out, Joe. Would you like to take them home with you? You can bring them back or you can fill them out here, whichever you prefer."

Joe looked at the stack of paperwork in the folder. It was filled with a stack of papers about 3/4 s of an inch thick. "Do I need a folder this big for each child we adopt?" He asked. "Maybe you had better give me another folder, just in case," he said with a laugh. He felt that he and his wife would probably decide to adopt at least two of the kids. "I'll take these home and get them filled out. Would tomorrow be too early to start the process for Carol"

Angela Lilos looked at Joe Danvers. Without saying a word, she again went over to the filing cabinet and got him another folder filled with paperwork. As she handed it to him, she smiled. "I don't doubt for a minute that you won't have at least the first batch done when you come in the morning, Joe. You seem really anxious to adopt this little girl. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful visit with her and her friends tomorrow. Just one question, though. Why Carol?"

"I don't really know the answer to that, Ms. Lilos. Ever since we found her roaming around Boston common, we just felt right about her. It may also be that we just found out that both my wife and I are permanently sterile and cannot have kids of our own. Carol was an absolute angel the few days we had her while we waited to find out if she had been reported missing. When we could find no trace of her familyno missing person's reports could be found concerning her, we brought her here. When we left that day, my wife told me she wanted to bring her home permanently. I told her that we would do our absolute best to make it happen. Carol is really a beautiful angel to us." After he finished, Joe Danvers got up to leave. "We will be here at 9:00 am. We will see you and the kids then."

That night, Carol was not the only one who had trouble sleeping. Betsy and Tabitha were both so excited they could not fall asleep. Neither could Mikey. Carol was also excited. All four kids were looking forward to going to the aquarium. At least, Carol was not having nightmares about Kandor this time.

The next morning, all four kids were up early. They all got bathed and dressed in record time. All of them had put on their coats and were waiting outside for Joe and Marie to pick them up. While they were waiting, Mikey scooped up some snow and formed a ball in his hands. Then he hurled the snowball at Betsy. Betsy was not looking when Mikey threw the snowball at her. It hit her in the back of her coat. As she felt the powdery snow explode on her coat, she turned around. Mikey was getting ready to throw another snowball at her. Quickly, Betsy scooped up some snow and made a snowball herself. When Mikey saw Betsy building her snowball, he decided not to throw his at her. Instead he hurled his snowball at Tabitha. Tabitha moved just as he threw it and the snowball hit Carol instead. Carol was shocked to see the powdery mark on her coat. Just then, she saw Betsy throw her snowball at Mikey. She watched as both Tabitha and Betsy made snowballs to throw at him. She scooped up a handful of the cold white snow and cupped it her hands. She did exactly as she had seen her friends do and formed a big snowball in her hands. Then she threw it at Mikey and hit him on his blue jacket. Soon all of the kids were running around, laughing and throwing snowballs at each other. After a few moments, Joe and Marie pulled up in their green minivan. As they got out of the car, both adults were caught in the crossfire and got hit by snowballs. Joe and Marie just laughed and each of them scooped up some snow and began throwing snowballs at the kids. Finally, Joe and Marie were able to get to the front door of the orphanage where Angela was waiting for them. Joe handed her a folder containing the paperwork for Carol's adoption. All of the forms were completed and the necessary letters of recommendation were all that remained before the file would be complete.

Angela smiled. Apparently, the kids weren't the only ones excited about their adventure for the day ahead. Joe and Marie were very much in a hurry to take the kids. "Did the kids eat breakfast yet?" Joe asked as he finished signing the forms that would allow him and his wife to take the children for the day.

"No," Angela replied. "They were too excited this morning."

"Good, we will take them to breakfast before going to the aquarium," Marie replied. "I know this great restaurant where they have a wonderful breakfast buffet that the kids will love."

"We will bring them home sometime this evening," Joe told Angela. Then the happy couple went outside where they discovered that the kids were standing beside their minivan waiting for them. They all piled into the vehicle. Joe and Angela made sure all of the kids were buckled in their seatbelts and got into their seats. Once they were all safely buckled, Joe started the van and they were off. After a few moments, they came to a restaurant where an all you can eat breakfast buffet was available. As Joe pulled into the parking lot, He said "is anyone hungry?"

After pulling into a space, they all trooped into the restaurant. "Party of 6 for the buffet," Marie told the hostess. They had to wait about 15 minutes for a table to become available. Finally, they were lead to a table right next to the buffet. As the four kids saw the buffet piled high with several different types of pancakes, fruits, eggs cooked in several styles, sausages, ham, bacon, biscuits and gravy, French Toast, bagels, muffins, several kinds of toast, as well as many different kinds of cereals, they grew more excited. Non of the kids had ever seen a buffet like this before and their eyes grew as wide as saucers. Once they were all seated, Marie told them they could have whatever they wanted but not to take more than they could eat. "You can always go up for more, if you want but please don't waste the food," she told them.

Carol was fascinated by all of the sights and smells as she picked up her plate. She was standing behind Marie, watching as she picked two different kinds of pancakes. One had a sign saying it was plain buttermilk pancakes while the other one said it was chocolate and chocolate chip. Next Marie put some clear brown liquid labeled "Real Pure Maple Syrup" over the pancakes. She followed that by placing a piece of ham, two sausage patties, and four strips of bacon on her plate. Finally, she placed two pieces of an orange melon on her plate and went back to the table. Carol also picked two kinds of pancakes. One was Chocolate and Chocolate Chip and the other was Peanut Butter. She also took some of the clear brown liquid and put it on her pancakes. She also took two of the round sausage patties. Then she picked a slice of the orange melon and a slice of green melon. Seeing her plate was now full, she went back to the table where she found a glass of brown liquid sitting before her. She tasted it and found it to be very good. It was her first time experiencing chocolate milk. It tasted very sweet Carol liked it. Soon everyone was back at the table, eating their breakfast. Mikey had taken two biscuits, opened them up and had put sausage patties on each half of the biscuits. He had also placed some yellow eggs on top of his biscuits and then covered them with what he said was a sausage gravy. It looked wonderful to Carol. Tabitha and Betsy each got eggs and bacon and sausage and real thin pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. When she had finished eating her first plate, Carol went up and got one biscuit and put sausage gravy on it. It was very good. Soon they were all finished eating. Joe went up and paid the bill. When he returned to the table, Carol saw him put a green piece of paper on the table with two numbers on it, a 2 and a 0. Then they all left the restaurant and headed to the Aquarium.

It took just a few minutes to reach the aquarium complex. Joe and Marie were both members of the aquarium and therefore were able to get all four of the kids in for free. Carol's eyes grew wide as they entered the ground floor. The first thing she saw as they entered was the penguin exhibit. There were hundreds of penguins swimming and sunning in the area surrounding a giant tank in the center of the building. The black and white birds fascinated Carol. She thought they were really cool. Carol had never seen swimming birds before. An even bigger thrill awaited the kids. When Joe had gotten their tickets to enter, he had mentioned that these four children were from a local orphanage and had never seen the aquarium before. He asked if it would be possible for the kids to help feed the penguins or seals. Much to his surprise and delight, he was told that they could participate in both feedings. They had been watching the penguins for a few minutes when one of the aquarium scientists came up to them. "Hi, kids. Would you like to help me feed the penguins?" He asked. Mikey and Tabitha started jumping up and down with excitement. Carol and Betsy, while not jumping up and down, also grew very excited. They all looked at Joe and Marie. "Go ahead, kids. We will wait right here for you," Marie told them with a big smile. Soon the scientist led them down to a door in the fence surrounding the penguin exhibit. Once inside the penguin area all four kids were given a bucket of fish. Carol thought the bucket smelled funny but she eagerly took it from the scientist. Then he showed them how to get the penguins to come over to them and get a fish. They walked all around the exhibit feeding the massive flock of birds. One particularly large bird with a bright yellow crest on his head followed Carol all around the exhibit area. She had already given him several fish and he seemed to want more. Laughing, she tossed a large fish into the pool of water and watched the big bird dive in to the water to get it. He swam back over to her and lay down and scooted himself up on the bank. Then he waddled up to her looking for another fish. Finally the kids' buckets were empty and it was time to return to Joe and Marie. When the scientist man took them back, all four kids had the biggest smiles on their faces. "That was fun!" Exclaimed Carol. "Those are funny birds."

The group continued the tour of the aquarium. The different tanks fascinated Carol. She especially liked the jellyfish and the sea horses. She was also fascinated when the giant octopus spread out in its tank showing its underside. Finally they had seen everything inside the Aquarium. The giant tank in the center had several kinds of fish swimming around. There were giant sea turtles, schools of barracudas, grouper, clownfish, and sharks. Carol thought the swimming sharks had to be the deadliest creatures she had ever seen. Sharks are made for killing. She would describe them as "nothing less than rough armored skin, razor sharp fins and wide jaws with rows and rows of sharp serrated teeth." She was surprised that they were in the same tank with all the other fish. Especially after learning that the shark was a predator who would eat other fish and sea creatures. She did notice that many of the tank's other inhabitants were pretty big in their own right and could dart in and out of the obstructions inside the tank. She guessed that was how they could be in the same tank as those fearsome sharks. They made their way down to the main entrance where they looked at the penguins on their way outside. Once outside, the kids saw an ice cream vendor and ran over to it. Joe and Marie bought each of the kids a bowl of ice cream dots. Carol had chosen the mint flavor because it was a pretty light green. Tabitha selected the rainbow dots, while Mikey chose chocolate and Betsy wanted the vanilla dots. Ice Cream dots are tiny balls of ice cream that seem to melt in your mouth. Even though it was the middle of winter, the kids enjoyed the cool ice cream.

Once they had finished their ice cream treats, the group walked around the building and went into the trained seal exhibit. There they were met by one of the seal handlers. "Hi, kids. My name is Wendy. I work with our sea lions and seals. Would you like to help me with our show? It will be starting in a few minutes." All four of the kids began to jump up and down. They followed Wendy down to the large square pool where they found several large buckets of fish waiting for them. "Wait over here, please," Wendy told them. The kids all moved over to where she had pointed and waited for the show to start. Suddenly, all of the lights went out and one spotlight trained on Wendy. She now had a microphone wrapped around her head. "Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the Sea Lion Encounter. I have four lucky children helping me today. Give a warm welcome to Carol, Betsy, Tabitha and Mikey. These kids are from the B.L.C. Orphanage. They are here courtesy of two of our aquarium members, Joe and Marie Danvers. They are going to help me with today's show. The spotlight then shined on the four kids and the audience gave them a standing ovation. "Kids, are you ready? We will be working with Charlie first. Carol that is Charlie's horn. Would you squeeze that big green bulb and let's call Charlie out. Carol grinned as she squeezed the bulb. Wendy then pulled on a rope. Suddenly a big brown animal was swimming in the pool. "Heeeeeeeeereesssssssssss Charlie," Wendy called out. The big brown animal circled the pool a couple of times. Then a giant sea lion flopped on the deck. "Good boy, Charlie. This is Charlie. Charlie is a young male sea lion about 4 years old. He weighs about 300 pounds. Say hello to our guests, Charlie." The sea lion barked a couple of times. "Good boy, Charlie," said Wendy as she tossed him a fish. "Betsy will you come over here a minute. Betsy came over to Wendy. "Whenever Charlie does what he is told, I want you to give him a fish, okay Betsy?" Betsy nodded. "Charlie, wave at the crowd," said Wendy. The sea lion waived his flipper to the crowd on one side of the pool. Then he turned around and waived his other flipper to the crowd on the other side of the pool. Betsy threw a fish to him. "Charlie likes to play his horn. Charlie, will you play Mary had a little lamb for us?" Charlie waddled over to his horn and played Mary had a little lamb on the horn and Betsy threw him a fish. "Carol, come over here a minute." Now lean your head down like this," Wendy instructed. "Charlie is going to have to go back to his pen now but before he goes I want him to tell you good bye. Charlie, say goodbye to the nice folks and give Carol a kiss. The sea lion waved his flippers at the crowd. Then he flapped his way over to carol and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek Betsy gave him a fish and then the sea lion slid into the water, circled the pool a couple of times and was gone. "Now we will be working with Sammy. Mikey, will you squeeze the big orange bulb so we can call Sammy to come and play with us?" Mikey stepped forward and squeezed the orange bulb. "Heeeeeeeeressssssssss Sammy" called Wendy as she pulled an orange rope, which hung from the ceiling. Soon another Sea Lion was in the pool. He made a couple of laps around the pool and flopped on the deck. "Hello, Sammy." Wendy said as she threw him a fish. "Say hello to our guests, Sammy." Sammy leaned forward and raised his tail to wave at the crowds. Wendy said, "Let's try that again, Sammy. Say hello to our guests. Sammy barked a couple of times. "That's better," said Wendy, rewarding him with a fish. "Tabitha, will you pick up that ball please?" Tabitha picked up the ball. "Now throw it to Sammy and say 'catch the ball, Sammy.'" Tabitha threw the ball over towards the Sea Lion and yelled "Catch the ball, Sammy." The sea lion caught the ball with his nose and balanced it. "Good job, Sammy" said Wendy, rewarding him with a fish. "Sammy is a male sea lion. He is a bit older than Charlie is. Sammy is about 7 years old. Sammy may be a bit difficult for us today because he has a girl friend and he misses her. We will see if he will work with us. Sammy likes to play basketball. Tabitha will you throw Sammy's ball into the pool?" As Tabitha threw the ball into the pool, Wendy asked if anyone knew who Larry Bird was. "Well Sammy is our Sea Lion equivalent to Larry Bird." Wendy then pushed a button and a basketball hoop was lowered to the far end of the pool. Next she said "Sammy, get the ball and show us how to make a basket." Sammy slid into the water, circled the pool once, found the ball and pushed it up. The beach ball came out of the water and went into the basket ball hoop. "Good job, Sammy. That was a three-pointer.' Sammy pushed the ball with his nose as he moved towards the show deck. Then he pushed the ball onto the deck before sliding up on himself. Wendy gave him a fish. "Carol; pull that cord in front of you until that ball comes down from the ceiling. It will stop automatically." Soon there was a ball on a string suspended about 6 feet over the water. "Would you like to see Sammy try to jump up and hit the ball, kids?" The audience all shouted yes. Carol, Betsy, Tabitha and Mikey all nodded their heads. "Okay, Sammy, get back in the water," Wendy said to the sea lion. As he hit the water, Wendy blew a whistle. The sea lion began circling the pool, getting more speed each time. As he was circling the pool for the fourth time, Wendy blew her whistle again. Suddenly, he launched himself straight up in the air and batted the ball playfully with his nose. Then he splashed back into the pool and circled around the pool before sliding back onto the show deck. Carol and Betsy each gave him a fish. " It's time to say goodbye, Charlie. The Sea Lion barked three times and waved his flippers at the crowd. Then he slid into the water and Wendy pulled the orange rope allowing him to return to his regular pen. "That concludes our show for now, folks. Please be sure to check out the rest of the aquarium before you leave. I want to thank Carol, Betsy, Tabitha and Mikey. You all were a big help in the show today." The four kids all had big broad smiles on their faces. This was a day that they would not soon forget.

Marie and Joe picked up the four kids. "Would you all like to check out the gift shop?" Marie asked them. All four said yes so it was off to the gift shop where Carol picked out three stuffed animals: a sea lion, a yellow crested penguin and a blue shark. Tabitha picked out a green turtle, an octopus and a sea horse. Mikey picked out a sea lion, a sea horse, and a collection of plastic sharks. Betsy picked out a seal, a penguin, and a red turtle. Marie picked out several post cards. At that moment, Wendy from the sea lion encounter came up to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Danvers, I would like you two to have this videotape of the show. We record every show and utilize the tapes in our training. We made an extra copy for you to show the children. They were wonderful and I enjoyed working with them today." Joe accepted the tape. "We will show it to them when we get back to our house," He said. "Thank you."

Joe looked at his watch as they exited from the gift shop. It was nearly 4:00 in the afternoon. He and Marie decided to take the kids to Fanuel Hall to get something to eat. He figured they would have no problem finding something they liked there. It was only a ten-minute walk from the aquarium. Marie and Joe both realized this was the area they had found Carol wandering around. When they got to Fanuel Hall, the kids were captivated by all the shops and restaurants. Tabitha and Betsy and Mikey all wanted pepperoni pizza. Carol did not know what pizza was so she remained silent. Marie and Joe decided to order one large pepperoni pizza and one medium cheese pizza. It took about 20 minutes for the pizzas to bake. They also ordered one pitcher of coke and one pitcher of root beer. Marie found a large empty table and took the kids to it and sat down. Joe brought the 2 pizzas to the table. A member of the restaurant staff brought the two pitchers of soda, some glasses, paper plates, napkins and some plastic ware to the table. "Be careful, kids," Joe warned. "The pizza is hot."

Marie put one slice of each kind of pizza on the plates for the kids. She took one slice of cheese for herself while Joe took a slice of pepperoni for himself. Carol watched, as her friends would pick up a slice by the edges and blow on it before taking a bite. Each of her friends seemed to really enjoy the pizza. Carol decided to pick up the pepperoni pizza first. It was very hot, so she blew on it. All of a sudden, her pizza was covered in ice and very cold. She just stared at it and a red beam came out of her eyes and it seemed to warm back up. Eagerly she took a bite. She thought it was pretty good. Eagerly, she finished the pepperoni pizza and began to eat the cheese pizza. This time it was not so hot and she did not have to blow on it. The group had eaten soon all the pizza. It was getting dark and Joe and Marie decided to take the children back to their home for a bit before returning to the orphanage. Soon they were all in the mini van and heading to the Danvers' home.

When they got there, Marie and Joe led them into the living room. "Sit down kids," Joe told them. "I have something to show you." Then he put the tape that he had received from Wendy into the VCR and pressed play. The TV came on and the kids were watching themselves in the sea lion show. Everybody was soon laughing at the antics of the sea lions. The tape lasted about an hour. When it was done, Joe pulled out a small cassette and put it into a large adapter. Then he put this new tape into the VCR. The kids saw themselves feeding the penguins, looking at all the exhibits, listening to a scientist explaining about the infirmary and its sick animals who were being treated. Finally, they saw themselves getting their treasures from the gift shop and eating the pizza at Fanuel Hall. While the second video was playing, Marie made them a big bowl of popcorn and fixed them each a glass of chocolate milk. When they had finished, it was time to go back to the orphanage. The kids were all getting tired, as it had been a very full day. Joe and Marie each brought two of the kids to the door and rang the doorbell. Angela came to the door and let them in. "Did you kids have a fun day today?" She asked.

"Yes, Ms. Lilos," Carol replied, smiling. "We went to the quarium and saw penguins and sea lions and lots of different fishes and stuff. We had ice cream and pizza and soda. We all got some things from the gift shop and then we saw a movie of us at the quarium."

"Wow, what an exciting day!" Angela exclaimed. "It's time for you to go join your friends in your rooms. Don't forget your treasures." she said as Mikey nearly forgot his new toys. Turning back towards Marie and Joe, Angela was greeted by 2 smiling faces. "It looks like you two really did a good job with the kids and enjoyed yourselves as well."

"Yes, we had a wonderful time with them," Marie replied. "I hope we can do it again real soon."

****

Okay, that is it for now. Tell me what you think. The review button awaits.


	4. The Adoption

**__**

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER FOUR: THE ADOPTION

The next morning, Marie and Joe got up very early and made their way to church. Each of them prayed that the adoption process would go smoothly. Joe had spent much of the evening getting the second set of paperwork done. He had made photocopies of the entire first package and was able to complete the process of filling out the second package fairly easily. The happy couple had decided to adopt Betsy as well as Carol. Betsy was a little older than Carol and they believed that she would be a good influence as a big sister to Carol. While in church, they had mentioned their adoption plans to their good friends, Sara and Tom Smith. Sara and Tom were another childless couple. Tom worked long hours as a fireman and Sara was a mortgage broker. Marie was very excited at the prospect of the two new additions to their family and it showed. She was constantly smiling all throughout the church service. When church was over, Marie and Joe invited Sara and Tom to join them at the orphanage. Perhaps, they too could adopt one of the kids. Tom and Sara readily agreed. The foursome left in the Danvers' mini van. About twenty minutes later they arrived at the orphanage. Angela had just brought the children outside to enjoy a rare break in the winter weather. She greeted Marie and Joe warmly and was introduced to Sara and Tom. Joe handed her the second folder with Betsy's name on it. Angela smiled at their choice. While they were talking, Tabitha, Betsy and Carol were busy running around the yard. They soon found themselves on the swings, each trying to outdo the other. Suddenly, Carol leaped out of her swing at the top of the arc. She soared about ten feet from the swing set before she landed. Not wanting to be outdone, Tabitha and Betsy both leaped from their swings as well. Each one of them soared about ten feet as well before crashing to the earth. Unlike Tabitha and Carol, however, Betsy landed awkwardly and turned her ankle. She screamed out in pain. The adults quickly ran over to the three girls, concern showing on their faces. Tom was the first to reach Betsy. Her ankle was already turning purple and starting to swell. He quickly scooped up the now sobbing child and carried her over to a bench in the yard. Setting her down, he quickly pulled off his tie and wrapped the girl's injured ankle. "It looks like the ankle may be broken," he said. Angela was beside herself. None of her kids had ever been seriously injured before. Marie and Sara calmed her down. "It's okay, Ms Lilos," Marie said calmly. "Let's get her to the hospital and get her fixed up. Sara and I will stay here and watch the other kids while you go with the guys to the hospital." Angela began to calm down. She went into the building and found the insurance information she would need to get Betsy examined. Tom and Joe put two of the three seats in the middle row of the van into a horizontal position and put Betsy into the remaining seat with her leg resting on the two horizontal seats. Then Tom sat down in the back row. Joe got behind the wheel as Angela slid into the front passenger seat. Soon they were in the emergency room of Boston General Hospital. As Angela checked Betsy in, Tom carried her into the examining room and placed her on the waiting bed. The doctor quickly examined the young girl and started an IV containing Demerol for her pain. He and Joe quickly wheeled her into the x-ray room. When the x-rays had been taken, Joe helped the doctor wheel her back to the examining room. A few minutes later, the doctor returned with the x-rays. He put them on the lighted screen. The ankle was clearly broken in two places. "The good news is that although the ankle is clearly broken, surgery will not be necessary." Joe breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want this young girl to have to undergo surgery so soon in her young life. Betsy had quit sobbing by this time. The doctor began soaking the plaster wraps in order to apply the cast to young Betsy's ankle. A few minutes later, he had the cast completely applied. "We will need to examine her next week," he said. "In the meantime, here is a prescription for a high strength Motrin. She is to take this every four hours as needed for pain. Give it to her with food so as to not upset her stomach. Betsy is free to go home." Joe was surprised that the trip to the hospital was over so fast. He had expected to be there for several hours but this trip was over in little more than and hour and a half. As Betsy was being place in a wheel chair to leave the hospital, Joe and Tom gathered up her shoe and sock and pushed her out to the van. Once again, Angela got into the front passenger seat and Tom placed her into the regular seat and took his position in the back row. As they headed back to the orphanage, Tom, Joe and Angela decided that they would order pizza for all the children. Tom used his cell phone and ordered 15 large pizzas of assorted varieties to be delivered to the orphanage. The pizzas arrived right after Joe arrived from the hospital. Angela, Marie and Sara ushered all of the children into the dining room as the deliveryman and Joe carried in the pizzas. Soon all of the kids were hungrily devouring the pizzas, even Betsy. All of a sudden, Betsy felt a tingling in her ankle and the pain just disappeared. When all of the pizza was finally gone, Joe, Tom, Sara and Marie watched the kids playing and talked to Betsy, Tabitha, and Carol. Tom and Sara decided to ask Angela for a packet of forms. They had made the decision to try to adopt Tabitha. Angela was pleased. It seemed that three of her precious charges were about to get new homes if all went well. Finally, the hour was getting late and the Danvers and Smiths had to leave.

The next morning a courier arrived at the orphanage. He was carrying the completed forms from Sara and Tom Smith. More importantly, he carried the necessary letters of recommendation for each of the prospective adoptive parents. For each family, there was a letter that was sure to be of great help to their cause. Each of them was a good lifelong friend of the current President of the United States. When Angela Lilos saw the letters of recommendation, she knew the investigations would be easily completed and that she would be losing three of her charges to new homes. She quickly filed all the paperwork and began the process of completing the investigation. It would not be long now. By the end of the day, she had the preliminary report of the investigation on her desk. The final hurdle was a home inspection and a background check of the prospective parents. Angela Lilos decided to wait until morning to let them know she would be coming to inspect their homes. She had to go see her kids. She stopped in the boys' room first. They were playing quietly when she told them that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. They all lined up to get washed for dinner. She directed them to get washed up and to head downstairs. Then she went into the girls' room to get them ready for dinner. She asked all of the girls except for Betsy, Tabitha and Carol to go ahead and get washed up for dinner. She told them that they had been selected for adoption. The application process was already complete and that they would have to prepare to leave the orphanage soon. The kids were both excited and sad. They were excited to be getting new homes and for Betsy and Carol, they were going to be together. At the same time, they were sad to be leaving their friends at the orphanage. Each one of them hoped that their friends would also get adopted into new homes as well.

The next few days went by very fast for the three girls. Angela had done her home visits and had received the results of the background checks. As she had suspected, there were no surprises. None of the four adults had so much as a parking ticket much less any criminal records. Additionally, there was no history of abuse in their families. They had neither been abused nor had they abused anyone else. None of them had been in trouble of any kind. She was glad for the girls. Their lives were about to change for the better. All that remained was the final waiting period of 5 days after everything was finalized. Angela began to plan the goodbye party for her three girls. Their last day at the orphanage would be that Friday. Before that glorious day would come, there was one little matter of a doctor visit for Betsy's broken ankle. That visit occurred on the Tuesday before she was to be adopted. Angela took Betsy to the doctor. She was still using her crutches even though she had not felt any pain since the first day she had broken her ankle. When the doctor removed her cast in order to change it over to a walking cast, he gasped in surprise. There was no swelling around the ankle whatsoever. Usually, a person who has had a broken ankle has swelling for several weeks afterward. The doctor decided to do additional x-rays on the broken ankle before he put on the new cast. He tried to convince himself that it was just to see how the ankle was setting. In reality, he wasn't sure that a new cast would be necessary. It seemed that Betsy's ankle had miraculously been healed completely. When he checked the x-rays, the doctor's suspicions were proven to be correct. "It is a miracle," he said. "Betsy, I have some good news for you. It has only been a week, but your ankle is completely healed. In other words, you won't need those crutches anymore nor will you need a walking cast. In fact, you won't need another cast at all."

Betsy and Angela were thrilled to hear the news. Neither one understood how Betsy had been so miraculously healed but the fact that Betsy would not need another cast

was really exciting. A few minutes later, the doctor wished them well and Angela and Betsy walked out of the hospital. When they got back to the orphanage, Betsy ran over to Carol. "Guess what, Carol? My ankle is healed. Look, no cast!" She exclaimed excitedly. The two girls went outside to play with the other kids. While they were running and jumping, Carol suddenly found herself floating in the air. Betsy grabbed her friend's legs and pulled her back to the ground. No one had seen the incident.

Finally, Friday came. The Smiths and Danvers arrived promptly at 6:00. They were ushered into Angela's office where the final papers were signed. It was official. Carol and Betsy were officially members of the Danvers family while Tabitha was now a Smith. "We have a farewell party for your new daughters," she said as they went into the large Dining room. All of the girls' belongings were packed and neatly placed by the front door. Inside the dining room, there was a buffet style dinner laid out for everyone. There was chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers. There was also potato salad, onion rings, and French fries as well as corn on the cob. Finally, there were various types of cookies. The kids were all excited as they lined up to get their food. When everyone had gone through the line and was seated, Angela stood up. "Tonight, we are here to celebrate," she began. "Betsy, Tabitha and Carol have been adopted and will be leaving us. Betsy and Carol will be going to live with Mr. and Mrs. Danvers, while Tabitha will be joining the Smith family. This is an exciting time for all of them. I know that each one of you have been their friends and will miss them." The kids all looked around at Carol, Tabitha and Betsy. Some of the kids began to cry at the thought of losing their friends. Carol had not been at the orphanage very long but all of the kids liked playing with her. Betsy and Tabitha had been there since they had been babies. Everyone knew them and enjoyed being with them. Mikey clutched his stuffed sea lion and sea horse as the tears began to flow down his cheeks. He had always been friends with Betsy and was really going to miss her. He also liked Tabitha a lot. They had come to the orphanage about the same time. He did not remember a day that Tabitha was not there to play with him. Now she was going to leave him. Tabitha walked over to her friend. "It's okay, Mikey. We will always be friends. I will never forget you, Mikey." Sara and Tom were watching the scene unfold. They were touched by the genuine emotion being showed by all of the children. Clearly, the three girls were very well loved and respected by their peers. Finally, the time came for all the children to go up to their rooms. Each one walked by and gave the three girls big hugs and said their goodbyes. When the last child had gone upstairs, Angela came over to the two couples. "It is time for you to take your new daughters home," she said as she wiped the tears from her face. Turning to the three girls, she gave each one a hug and said " Know that you are well loved here and please don't forget about your friends here. We will miss you. Be good to your new families." With that she turned away so that they would not see her crying and went into her room.

Joe and Marie both grabbed a pair of suitcases that belonged to the girls and carried them out to the van. When they returned, Carol and Betsy picked up their remaining things and followed them out to the van. Quickly, they ran back and gave Tabitha a big hug. "Good Luck" they all said simultaneously. As they got into their respective vehicles, the three girls looked back at the orphanage. Every window on the second floor had at least one of their friends in it. They were all waving goodbye to their three friends. Finally, they left the orphanage.

Joe and Marie each carried the bags for their new daughters. They went into their new home and were led up the stairs. Each of them would have their own separate bedroom. Carol's room was set in tones of green while Betsy's room was decorated in shades of yellow. Each room had a large canopy bed in the center. There were various types of stuffed animals for each of the girls along the walls and on the beds. There was also a green or yellow dresser, nightstand, and mirrored vanity in each room. There was also a bathroom between the two rooms with connecting doors from each room. Each girl was thrilled to have their own rooms after having to share one room with several girls.

Two houses down, Sara and Tom were also showing Tabitha to her new room. Her room was done in shades of blue. She had a twin bed and a dresser and vanity. On her nightstand were a blue lamp and a telephone. Tabitha ran to her bed and jumped on it. Soon she was bouncing up and down on her new bed and laughing with glee. After a few moments, Sara and Tom left her in her room and closed the door. A fem moments later, Sara peeked her head back into the room. Tabitha was lying on her bed fast asleep. Smiling, Sara turned out the light and closed the door.

Back at the Danvers' home, Joe, Marie, Carol and Betsy had moved down into the dining room and were talking and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows. Both Carol and Betsy were yawning. It had been a very long but exciting day for them. When they finished their cocoa, each girl gave their new parents a light kiss on the cheek and went upstairs to their rooms. Soon, both of them were fast asleep.

****

Well, what do you all think? I know that this chapter does not have a lot of action in it. There will definitely be more action and adventures in the next chapter. A few surprises are in order. As you may have noticed, Carol seems to be discovering a new power or ability each chapter. The fun is just beginning. Read and Review, please.


	5. Fun in Boston Common

****

Hi, everyone. Here is chapter five of the biography of Carol Danvers. I thank all my readers in advance. A couple of things need to be cleared up. First, it has come to my attention that some of you may think that Betsy is Betsy Braddock. I will tell you right now that she is not. Betsy Danvers is my oc and the sister to Carol. She is destined to become a mutant but she is not Kryptonian as Carol is. However Tabitha is the same Tabitha who is destined to join the Brotherhood and ultimately the X-Men. As always, I do not claim any ownership of DC or Marvel Comics or any of their characters. And now here is:

__

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER FIVE: FUN IN BOSTON COMMON

The next morning, Carol was the first one up. For the first time since she had been at the orphanage, she had no nightmares whatsoever about Kandor. The only thing she dreamed about at all was her new home. She was so happy to have been adopted so quickly. She also was thrilled to have her best friend from the orphanage, Betsy, as her big sister. As she thought about her good fortune, she decided to go into her sister's room to wake her up. Betsy was a very sound sleeper and it took Carol a few minutes to wake her up. Finally, she began to tickle her sister. That did it and Betsy was now awake. The girls talked quietly for a few moments. Suddenly, they were laughing together. Their laughter woke up their parents. Marie and Joe got up and went to see what the commotion was about. Once they had ascertained that there was nothing wrong, Marie then went downstairs to fix breakfast for her new children. A few moments later, the smell of bacon frying filled the air. Everyone went down to breakfast where they were treated to scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. As they all sat down together, Betsy looked at all the food. She had been in the orphanage for most of her five years of life and had never seen so much food for so few people. They all ate and laughed together. When everyone was finished eating, Joe said they were going to spend the day at Boston common enjoying the fresh air.

A few moments later, they had all piled into the family van and were heading to the Boston common. Unbeknownst to the girls, their friend, Tabitha, was also heading to the same place. There were going to be additional surprises as well. Carol grew very excited as they drew near their destination. As soon as they had parked the van, Carol and Betsy started running towards the other end of Boston Common. Betsy was soon falling behind her sister. Carol seemed to be moving faster than anyone could see her. Betsy soon stopped running and slowly walked back towards her parents. A few seconds later, Carol came back to her. "I'm sorry, Betsy. I did not mean to run away from you," she said apologetically to her sister.

Betsy beamed when she saw Carol again. "How do you go so fast, Carol?" She asked. "I was running as fast as I could but I could not keep up with you. It was almost like I could not see you because you were so fast."

"I don't know how I go so fast, Betsy," Carol replied. "It just happens."

They were quietly talking when all of a sudden there was the sound of an explosion nearby. Both girls turned to see what was causing the noise. The next thing they heard was a girl screaming. Without thinking, Betsy and Carol ran over to where they heard the screams coming from. To their surprise, the screaming girl was their friend from the orphanage, Tabitha.

"What is the matter, Tabitha?" Asked Betsy with concern.

Tabitha was shaking uncontrollably as she sobbed. All of a sudden there was a glowing sphere in her hands. It frightened the poor girl and she threw it away from her. It landed about 10 feet away from her. Suddenly it exploded. The noise startled Carol, who jumped back. By this time Sara and Tom had made their way over to where the girls were standing. "Calm down, Tabby," Carol said to her. "It's going to be okay. You will be fine." She hugged her friend close to calm her down.

It took a few minutes, but Carol and Betsy along with her parents were able to get Tabitha to calm down and stop shaking. When they had done so, Carol asked Tabitha what had happened.

"Some boys over there were mean to me," she cried. Pointing to three boys across the way, she said that they had pushed her down and pulled her hair. They would not let her up until the explosion sounded. Then they ran away from her.

Carol stepped away from the crowd and began to look at the three boys who had been so mean to her friend. All of a sudden, two intense red beams shot out of her eyes and were going right towards the three boys. Carol was terrified and quickly shut her eyes. The beams vanished when she did so. Fortunately, no one noticed, as everyone was preoccupied with Tabitha. Sara and Tom decided to keep a close watch on their new daughter and make sure that the three boys did not bother her again. The rest of the crowd began to disperse.

When everyone was gone, Carol and Betsy started moving over towards the three boys. As they were playing, one of the three boys came over to Carol.

"You betta get away from heah," he said menacingly. "Me and my friends are gonna beat ya up."

Carol was afraid of the boy. As he began to push her, Betsy came up to him and pushed him away from her sister. Suddenly the other two boys grabbed Betsy and began to push her to the ground. As they did so, they ripped her new sweater. They began laughing at the poor girl. The third boy tried to hit Carol. By this time, Carol was getting angry with the three boys. She balled up her tiny fist and hit the boy who had tried to hit her. She hit him right in the stomach. Suddenly the boy was doubled over in pain and there was a whooshing sound as he hit the ground and the air rushed out of his lungs. A few seconds later, he was crying and running away from the two girls. His friends also took off running to catch him.

Carol and Betsy walked over to where their parents were standing. Marie noticed that Betsy was crying and there was a big hole in her new sweater. "What happened, Betsy?" Marie asked.

Betsy was crying and shaking all over. Carol spoke up. "Those three boys who hit Tabitha and pulled her hair came up to us. One of them told me he and his friends were going to beat me up. As he went to push me, mom, Betsy pushed him away from me. Then the other two boys grabbed Betsy and ripped her sweater when they pushed her to the ground. The other boy tried to hit me and I punched him hard in the stomach. He ran away crying." When she had finished telling her story, Marie and Joe looked at each other.

Joe said, "It appears that some bullies have decided to make trouble today." He gathered up his two daughters in a big hug. "I am so proud of both of you. You did the right thing. I am sure they wont bother you again, girls. Go play some more." Carol and Betsy ran over to see Tabitha. She was playing quietly near her parents.

Tabitha smiled when she saw her two friends come up to her. As they were playing together, Carol told Tabitha about the three boys trying to hurt her. She also told her how she had hit one in the stomach and he ran away. "They wont bother us anymore, my daddy said," Carol told her. A few moments later, the three girls walked up to Sara and Tom. "Can Tabitha walk with us over to that tree?" Carol asked, pointing to a tree about 50 yards away. "There are swings over there."

Sara and Tom looked at the trees and saw the swings. "Okay," said Tom. "But don't go any farther than that so we can see you," he told them. Then, the two adults saw Marie and Joe and went over to them to begin talking. Joe told them about the three bullies who were causing trouble and what had happened to Carol and Betsy. He also told them how Carol had punched one in the stomach and caused them to run away. Sara smiled when she heard the story. It seemed that the boys would not bother their girls again.

Carol, Betsy and Tabitha ran over to the tree. Betsy and Tabby got on the swings and Carol pushed them both until they were swinging so high. Then she got on the last swing and began to push herself. Soon all three girls were soaring as high as they could. After a few minutes of swinging the girls began to slow down. Slowly, they quit swinging and just began to talk. A few minutes later, they heard their parents approaching. Tabitha ran over to her parents. She was very happy that her friends were able to cheer her up. She had forgotten about her explosions. She wanted to spend more time with her friends. Her parents told her that it was time for them to get home

At that moment, Joe and Marie walked up. Carol and Betsy were beside them. "We were wondering if you all would like to join us for dinner, this evening," Joe asked.

"We are going to Chinatown."

Tabitha began jumping up and down. She saw the dinner invitation as a means of being able to spend more time with her friends. Tom and Sara were happy to see their daughter's enthusiasm. "We would love to join you in Chinatown. We should take both vehicles though."

Marie looked at them. "Have you ever tried to find parking in Chinatown? On a Saturday night?" She shook her head. "Leave your car where it's at. I'm sure it will be safe. I work near there and can park in my company lot without any problems. It is an attended parking garage where I have a permit to park"

"It's settled then," Joe said. "You folks will come with us." Then he began leading the way to their van. Carol, Betsy and Tabitha climbed in the very back row of the van's seats. Tom and Sara sat in the middle and Joe and Marie climbed n the front. Marie was going to drive as she was the most familiar with the area and had her parking permit. Soon, they arrived in Chinatown. Marie went directly to her workplace garage. As everyone piled out of the van, she locked it and they all headed to her favorite Chinese restaurant, The Emperor's Wok. Carol, Betsy and Tabitha were holding hands and skipping together. The owner of the restaurant recognized Marie as one of his favorite customers. He quickly seated their party at the best large table in the house. He was delighted to meet the rest of her family and friends. When the waitress came over, she brought two pots of green tea and seven small cups. She also brought a large bowl of crispy rice noodles and duck sauce. She took their drink orders and brought three large coloring pads and crayons for the kids. The coloring pads had pictures of Chinese boys and girls in different scenes. There were also pictures of dragons and pandas to be colored in. Finally, the waitress left them to peruse the menu.

Marie spoke up. "I recommend the Won Ton Soup and the General Tso's Chicken. Those are my favorites. I have tried their Peking Duck and their Bird's Nest Surprise and enjoyed them as well. All of the food served here is exceptional."

The two families all ordered different items from the menu. Then they proceeded to share all the different foods so everyone could have an exciting and delicious meal. Everyone seemed to enjoy all the different foods. After a couple of hours they were all finished eating. As they all walked back to the parking garage, Tabitha, Betsy and Carol were beginning to feel sleepy. They had all been out playing and running around in the fresh air and were tired. Once inside the van, the three girls all fell asleep before they could get back to Boston Common and Sara and Tom's car.

When they arrived at Sara and Tom's car, Tom looked at Tabitha. She was sleeping next to the wall. Leaning on her shoulder was Betsy while Carol's head was on Betsy's shoulder. Tom shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't going to try to get Tabitha into his car. It could not be done without waking the other two girls. "Can Tabitha ride home with you, Joe? These three angels are sleeping and it would not be fair to wake them all to try to transfer her to our car." Joe and Marie both looked back at the three kids. When Marie saw them, she giggled. Joe was smiling as well. "Sure thing, Tom. That won't be a problem at all."

Tom and Sara got into their car and followed the Danvers' Van. Soon both vehicles arrived at the Danvers' home. Marie and Joe were in the process of removing the middle row of seats when Tom and Sara came up to them. Once the middle seats had been removed, Marie picked up Carol and handed her to Joe. Then she picked up Betsy. Joe had already carried Carol into the house and had laid her on one end of the big sectional couch, when Marie was able to get Betsy out of the van. Marie handed Betsy to Joe who took her in the house as well. When he returned, Marie was removing Tabitha from the van. Joe looked at the sleeping girl and said to Tom, "You know she can stay here tonight if you want. There is plenty of room for all three of them on the couch. I am sure Carol and Betsy would love to find her here in the morning."

Tom looked at Sara. He was about to take Tabitha into his arms from Marie. Suddenly a small yellow glowing sphere fell to the ground at his feet. He had just jumped away from the sphere when there was a sound like a firecracker and it disappeared. Tom and Sara were confused. They did not know where the sphere had come from. Both looked around but there was no one nearby except for their friends and Tabitha. Tabitha was still sleeping and did not even flinch when the explosion came. "Let's go inside and talk for a bit," suggested Marie. Joe quickly took Tabitha and placed her on the couch next to Carol and Betsy. "Perhaps, she will wake up in a bit," he said. Marie went into the kitchen and began to make coffee for the four adults.

When the coffee was done, the four adults sat around the kitchen table talking. Inevitably the conversation turned to the events of the day. Tom and Sara seemed to be very concerned about their new daughter. Tabitha seemed to enjoy her new home but she seemed lonely for her friends from the orphanage. When the three bullies had attacked her, something had happened and she had become very withdrawn and quiet. Only her friends coming over to play with her seemed to bring her out of her shell. Also the explosions were a concern for them. Neither one of them understood what was happening in that regard.

"What do you mean? Explosions?" Asked Marie, sounding alarmed.

"Well," began Sara. "Tabitha told us about the three boys who pushed her to the ground and were pulling her hair. They would not let her up until all of a sudden, there was the sound of an explosion. Then she started screaming and the bullies ran away. Just before we got to her, she was talking to Carol and Betsy and there was another explosion noise. It seemed to startle Carol and caused her to jump back. Finally, just a little while ago there was a glowing yellow sphere near Tom and it made the same kind of explosion noise. The only ones around were you two, us and Tabitha asleep over Tom's shoulder. We were discussing letting her stay over night at the time."

"That sounds serious, Sara," Marie said to her. "Perhaps you should have her checked out?"

Sara shook her head. "The doctor would think I'm crazy or imagining things. Could you see me trying to explain these events to someone only a couple of days after we adopted her?"

Marie and Joe saw their friends' point. "It is a sticky situation, indeed," Joe said. "What can we do to help?"

At this point, Tom spoke up. "We are not sure there is anything you or anyone else can do. We don't know ourselves what is going on. I think we will have to wait and see what happens, I guess."

The adults continued to talk for awhile. Finally, Joe noticed the hour was very late. He noticed their guests were beginning to yawn. It had been a traumatic day for all of them. "Why don't you leave Tabitha with us for the night and come get her in the morning?" He suggested. "You guys look beat. Get some rest and we'll check this out further in the morning."

Sara and Tom agreed. They looked at the clock and decided Joe's suggestion was best. As they got up to leave, Tabitha turned over in her sleep. "Look at our little angel sleeping so peacefully," Sara gushed. She went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Sleep well, Tabitha. We'll see you in the morning." Then Sara and Tom put on their coats and went to their car. It was a very short trip home as they only lived two houses down from Joe and Marie.

Well, what do you all think? Like it or hate it, feel free to let me know. Use the review button. There is only one more chapter of the childhood stuff to go and then the real fun begins. The next chapter will start where this left off but will also jump forward in time. New discoveries await. Please don't forget to review.


	6. Shocking News

****

Welcome back. Last time on X-Men Evolution: We are going to Boston Common to enjoy the fresh air..."_You betta get out of heah." ... Carol balled up her tiny fist and hit the boy who tried to hit her...We are going to China town...Explosions? ... Sleep Well, Tabitha..._** And now it's time to fasten the seatbelts. Here is:**

__

The Untold Story of Carol Danvers

Chapter 6: Shocking News

The next day, Tabitha was the first to awake. She stretched and looked around. This was not her home, she thought. Then she looked over and saw Betsy and Carol on the couch with her. At first she thought they were back in the orphanage. It did not take her long to realize that she must be at Carol and Betsy's house. The last thing she remembered was getting into her fiends' car in Chinatown and falling asleep. Seeing her friends sleeping, she moved over to Carol and gently shook her to wake her up. A few seconds later, Carol was awake.

"Carol, will you tell me where the bathroom is?" Tabitha asked, as she tried to squeeze her legs together.

Carol quickly showed her friend where the downstairs bathroom was. Then she went back to the couch and began to wake her sister up. Once again, she had to tickle her sister to wake her up. By this time, Tabitha had returned from the bathroom and helped Carol tickle her sister to wake her up. Soon, Betsy was awake and the three girls were laughing and playing. Betsy went over to the TV and turned it on. She wanted to watch cartoons. As luck would have it, however, all that was on was religious programming. Finally, she found a cartoon called Davey and Goliath. It was about a young boy and his dog. Each of the episodes would find the two friends reliving a bible story and learning the important lessons that were being taught. The three girls watched the program with interest. A few minutes later, Marie and Joe came down the stairs. When they saw what the girls were watching, Marie smiled. Davey and Goliath was one of her favorite programs when she was growing up. Quietly, she made her way into the kitchen and began fixing breakfast for her family and Tabitha. Soon, the smell of pancakes and sausages filled the air. A little while later, she called everyone into the dining room for breakfast. As they were sitting down to eat, Carol suddenly found herself floating in the air. She was just a little bit off the ground. Luckily, Betsy grabbed her and forced her into her chair. Then a strange thing happened to Carol. As she was looking towards the wall, she saw Sara and Tom coming into their driveway. Her eyes got very big at the sight. A few seconds later, the doorbell rang. It was Sara and Tom. Marie got up to answer the door. "Hi Tom, Hi Sara," she said as she ushered them inside. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

Sara laughed. "It sure smells good in here." As they entered the room, Betsy and Carol got up and brought in a couple of extra chairs. Soon everyone was enjoying the pancakes and sausages. As everyone finished eating, the three girls went outside to play. In the Danvers' back yard sat a gigantic swing set with a slide. Carol, Betsy and Tabitha went straight to the swings and began pumping for the sky. All of a sudden, Carol leapt out of her swing and was floating in the air. As she slowly floated down to the ground, Betsy and Tabitha also jumped out of their wings. Their descent was much more rapid than Carol's. Laughing, they went over to the slide and slid down it several times. Carol was fascinated by the slide. It was nearly as much fun to her as the swings. After a few more turns on the slide, the three girls went back to the swings. Once again, Carol leapt out of her swing at the top of her stroke. This time, she did not just float down to the ground. She stayed in the air until Betsy leapt from her swing. As Betsy flew into the air, Carol caught her sister and they both floated down together. Once down on the ground, they shouted to Tabitha to jump out of her swing and fly. Tabitha grinned and pumped herself as high as she could. At the top of her stroke, Tabitha leapt from her swing and propelled herself even higher in the air. She soared past her friends and when she landed, pushed herself into a shoulder roll to break her fall. All three girls broke out laughing when Tabby did her shoulder roll. Soon, all three of them were doing shoulder rolls and somersaults on the just thawed ground. The three friends continued playing together until it was time to go in for supper. After supper, the kids played together until it was time for Tabitha to go home. The three kids and their parents went to sleep not knowing that their lives were about to be changed forever.

The next morning, Sara dropped Tabitha off at Marie's home. Marie had taken some time off from her job as a real estate sale person so that she could spend some time acclimating to her two new daughters. Sara and Tom had also asked her to look after Sara until the following week when they planned to put her in a day care center. Everyone had agreed that it was probably for the best that Tabitha be with her friends from the orphanage until she got acclimated to her new home. When she got to work, her manager called Sara into her office. Sara went in with a feeling of dread. She wondered why she was being called into her manager's office. She did not think she had done anything wrong.

Her boss looked at her. "Cheer up, Sara. I have some good news for you. You are getting promoted. You will be going to Bayville, NY as the head of our new office there. Congratulations."

Sara was astonished by the news her manager had given her. Along with the promotion came a significant raise in salary and relocation. Sara had mixed feelings about her promotion. The really tough part of the promotion was the mandatory relocation. On the one hand, She and Tom had just bought their home a few months before. That plus the fact that they had just adopted Tabitha and the fact that her husband was in line to be promoted to a higher position in the hierarchy that was the Boston Fire Department made her feel guilty. She knew that Tom loved his job and would be reluctant to leave it. On the other hand, she was being rewarded for her hard work with a big promotion and raise. All day long, she kept wondering if she was making the right decision for her family. Despite the well wishes of all of her colleagues, Sara went home with a sense of dread.

Meanwhile, Carol, Tabitha and Betsy were playing outside on their swing set. After they swung for a while, the three girls slowed down. Finally, their swings came to a stop. All of a sudden, Tabitha had a small yellow sphere glowing in her hand. Her face grew frightened as she flung it away from her. Suddenly there was a little pop as it burst into pretty colors and then dissolved.

Betsy and Carol looked at their friend. Betsy was the first to speak. "Tabitha, that is so cool. How did you do that?"

Tabitha shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It just happens. It's kinda scary."

Carol looked at her friend. They had been watching the Super Friends cartoon earlier. "You are a power girl, Tabby. Your power is so cool. You are like that girl on the cartoon. She could turn into an animal. You make things go boom." All of a sudden, Betsy said, "Let's pretend we are superheroes. Carol you can be Wonder Woman. Tabby, You are a new superhero. We'll call you Splody Girl and I like Batman, So I'll be Batgirl."

Tabitha replied. "I don't want to be Splody Girl. You can call me Boom Boom. 'Cause I can make things go boom."

Carol looked at her friends. "I don't like Wonder Woman. I want to be like Super Man. I want to be Super Girl."

Their play identities now decided, the three girls went into the house and each grabbed a towel to use as a cape. Then the three girls went back outside and were playing as superheroes until Tabitha's mother came home. Marie was watching them out the kitchen window as they pretended to save the world from the super villains who were trying to take over. Betsy had even commandeered an old box to use as her "Bat mobile" in her play fights against the bad guys.

When Tom came home from work, he was really sad and depressed. It seems that Boston's fire commissioner had spread the word throughout the ranks of firemen. There were going to be massive layoffs because the City was in deep financial trouble. As a result several fire stations would be closed. Among those stations closing, was Tom's station. Tom was going to be laid off from his job. Sara was stunned. All day long, she had been wondering how she was going to tell Tom her news. At least, now her news was not going to be as difficult to deliver. Her company had been very pleased with her work. Sara had been promoted that day. She was now going to be in charge of a new office her company was opening. With the promotion came a required relocation. Sara was being transferred to Bayville, New York. While she knew that her husband was sad, Sara was happy that the biggest obstacle to her success had been removed by the City's fiscal crisis. She did not know how she was going to convince Tom to move. His layoff made it that much easier. 

"So when do we have to be in New York?" Tom asked after she told him of her news. "And where in heck are we going to live," he asked.

"Well, Tom," Sara began. "I will have to be there next Monday. My company has offered to put us up in a hotel until we can find a place of our own. I also planned on showing you this as a means of easing the burden of the move," she said as she handed him a piece of paper. Tom looked at the paper. His eyes widened in disbelief. The paper was a page from the New York Times classifieds. Circled in red was an ad for Firemen wanted in the city of Bayville, New York.

Tom was speechless. His wife had pulled the ultimate surprise on him. She had not known that he had been laid off, yet she had taken the time to find him a job opportunity where she was being transferred. Tom moved closer to his loving wife. As he hugged her close, he kept saying "I love this woman, I love this woman, I love this woman," over and over. Now feeling better, he began to smile. "We need to tell Marie and Joe about this development," he said. "And we should ask Marie to sell our house for us."

Tom, Sara and Tabitha made their way over to the Danvers' home. Joe had just gotten home from work and Marie was just about to put supper on the table when the Smiths knocked on the door. Carol and Betsy hurried over to open the door. Both of them squealed with delight when they saw Tabitha. They went into the living room to play quietly while the grownups talked about the Smiths' news. A few minutes later, all of them sat down to dinner. Tom and Sara had told Joe and Marie about their impending move. While Joe and Marie were a bit saddened to see their friends moving away, they knew it was for the best. Marie was a real estate salesperson who often worked from her home. She was staying home to take care of Carol and Betsy. She also had agreed to sell her friends' home for them.

The next few days went too quickly. Soon it was Saturday and the moving truck arrived. Carol and Betsy watched as the Smiths' belongings were packed up and loaded into the truck. After several hours, the truck was finally loaded and pulled away on its journey to their new life in Bayville, New York. Finally, the Smiths and Tabitha came over to say their final goodbyes. When they came over, Carol ran to her room. Quickly she grabbed her green and yellow blanket, the one with the symbol of the house of Da on it. As Tabitha was about to leave, Carol handed her the blanket. "I want to give you this, Tabitha, as a token of our friendship and to remember Betsy and I as your friends."

Tabitha took the blanket and hugged her two friends. "I'm really going to miss you guys," she said. "I hope we will see each other again soon." Finally, the Smiths had to leave. As they got into their car, Carol and Betsy began to cry as their friend left them. Marie and Joe were also crying.

**Well that is it for this chapter. Tabitha has been separated from Carol and Betsy. She has moved on to New York and all of her future problems, sad to say. Carol and Betsy are now moving on to their future. The next chapter takes place several years in their future, and yes, the first meeting between Carol and one Marie Anna Darkeholme will happen next chapter. Read and review, please.**


	7. The Junior Olympics

_I am back once again. When we last visited this story, Carol and Betsy were very young and they had just lost their best friend Tabitha who had moved to Bayville, New York. It is now twelve years later. Without further ado, here is:_

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE JUNIOR OLYMPICS

****

Carol and Betsy were very excited. Both of them had been extensively involved in sports for the past several years. Betsy had taken up the martial arts. She was especially proficient in both Karate and Judo. She currently held the rank of a brown belt in Karate and a red belt in Judo. She was also able to fluently speak Japanese. She had become so proficient in her sports that she had easily qualified to represent the state of Massachusetts at the national finals of the junior Olympics in both disciplines. Carol, on the other hand, had excelled in track and field and swimming. She currently held several state records in both disciplines. Her very favorite events in track and field were the 200-meter dash and the shot put. In swimming, she was the junior national record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke as well as the 400-meter backstroke events. Like her sister, Carol had qualified for the national finals in the junior Olympics. She was proud to represent her home state of Massachusetts. The National finals of the junior Olympics were going to be held in New Haven, CT at the famous Yale Bowl. Carol and Betsy could hardly sleep the night before they were to go to New Haven. Little did they know what was in store for them when they arrived in New Haven with their teammates.

As their bus pulled into the parking lot of the Yale Bowl, Carol was in awe of all the people. Each state was going to be represented. As she was looking at the crowd, she saw someone who looked familiar to her. It had been several years since she had seen her old friend but it was definitely Tabitha she saw. "Look, Betsy," she said as she shook her sleeping sister. "There is Tabitha."

Betsy shook herself awake. "Wha ... What, Where?" She asked as her head cleared.

"Over there," she pointed to a large group of people. Carol had forgotten that with her special vision abilities, she could pick out a single person in a large crowd.

Betsy looked but did not see Tabitha.

A few minutes later, The head coach of the Massachusetts Delegation, a former junior Olympian herself, Lynn Cruickshank, stood up. "All right, kids. When you get off the bus, everyone form 2 lines. I want Carol and Betsy Danvers at the head of our lines. They will be the leaders of our procession at all times. Our first stop is the registration booth. After everyone is registered, report back here. We will then go to our assigned dorm and change for the opening ceremonies." When she had finished her speech, Ms. Cruickshank got off the bus, taking the Massachusetts State flag with her. After she left, the kids began filing off the bus. Once everyone was off the bus, they formed two lines side by side with Carol leading one line and Betsy leading the other. Soon it their state's turn to enter the registration tent. Ms. Cruickshank handed the state flag to Betsy. They began the short march to the registration tent. Ms Cruickshank met them at the registration table. Each athlete had to give their name, address, the events they were participating in and sign a statement saying they would abide by the rules of the Junior Olympics. Betsy was participating in Karate, Judo the 200-meter dash and was an alternate on the 4x200-meter relay team. Carol was participating in the 200 meter dash, the 100 meter dash, the 4x100 meter relay, the 4x200 meter relay, the shot put, the discus throw, the 200 meter breast stroke and the 400 meter back stroke events. Fortunately for her, the track and field events were held on a separate day from the swimming events. Finally, the registration process was completed. As they were leaving the registration tent, the Mississippi delegation was filing into the tent. At the head of the Mississippi Delegation was a girl slightly younger than Carol and Betsy. She had auburn hair with two white stripes in the front. She was carrying the flag of Mississippi. As she led her delegation into the tent, she looked right at Carol. Carol and Betsy led their delegation out of the tent and straight over to their bus. A few moments later, they were on their way to their assigned dormitory on the Yale Campus. As the bus pulled into their parking lot, Ms. Cruickshank again addressed the kids. "Everyone will go to your assigned rooms and get prepared for the opening ceremonies. You will all wear your Massachusetts red and white warm up suits with the blue trim. Remember to attach your number to your jacket. Please put on jeans and a casual shirt under your warm up suit. We will meet in the lobby in three hours to go to the Yale Bowl for the opening ceremonies. Now go and relax and get ready. We are about to begin the Junior Olympics."

Carol and Betsy were assigned a room together. As they entered the room, they noticed three beds. "I wonder whom the third bed is for. No one from our delegation is coming in here or Ms. Cruickshank would have told us," Betsy thought. Carol selected the bed near the window while Betsy took the one in the middle. They left the third bed near the door for their third roommate whoever she might turn out to be. They then began making up their beds and had just finished when there was a knock on the door. "Come on in, its not locked," called Carol. The door opened to reveal the same auburn haired girl with the white stripes that they had seen earlier.

"Pahdon meh. Mah name is Marie Darkeholme. Ah a guess Ah is sharing this room with yeh."

Betsy and Carol looked in amazement at the newcomer. "Hi, Marie," Carol said looking up. "My name is Carol and that is my sister, Betsy."

"Hi, Marie" said Betsy. "Where are ya from, girl? If I had to guess I'd dare say you be from the Deep South."

Marie laughed. "Y'all beh raght about thet. Ah'm from Calledecott County, Mississippi. Et don' get no deeper South then thet. Calledecott County es located on th' gulf coast in the swamps. Not too fah from the Loosana Bayoo. Whar ya all from?" She asked.

"We ah from Boston, Mass," Betsy told her. "What events are you doing, Marie?" She asked.

Marie grinned. "Ahm entered en the gator wrasslin event," she joked. "Ahctually, Ahm a runnah in tha 100 meeetah and the 200 meeetah races and Ahm a pretty faih swimma in the 400 meeetah backstroke. Ah wanted to do judo too, but mah coach would not let meh. She said Ah'd get too tarred to compet weall. Ah am an altahnut on the judo team if someone on mah team gets huht and can't compet. Ah'm ahso on the FO by 200-meetah relahe team."

Betsy and Carol looked at Marie, then at each other. This girl was in some of the same events as Carol. She was also an alternate on the judo squad. It was possible that either of them could meet her on the track or in the pool or on the judo mat. An uneasy silence fell on the room. After a few moments, Carol was the first to speak. "It looks like we will be in some of the same events Marie. I also run the 100 meters, the two hundred meters, the 4 by 200 relay as well as the 4 by 100 relay. I swim the 400-meter backstroke as well as the 200-meter breaststroke. Betsy is doing Judo and Karate. She is an alternate on the 4 by 200-meter relay team as well." The three girls continued talking for another hour or so. By the time they needed to get dressed and get ready for opening ceremonies, they were on their way to becoming friends. Soon it was time to go down to the lobby. Marie was wearing her blue and red warm-ups with the white letters spelling out Mississippi across the front. Carol and Betsy were wearing their Massachusetts Red and white warm ups with the blue trim.

Carol and Betsy led their delegation to their bus for the trip to the Yale Bowl. The trip was only about ten minutes. Once there, they once again lined up and waited for their turn to enter the stadium. Each state was called in alphabetical order. When Massachusetts was called, Betsy and Carol proceeded to march their two lines into the stadium and over to the center of the grass field. Then they marched past the reviewing stand and to their respective place in the stadium infield. A few states later, the delegation from Mississippi was called. Marie led her delegation into the stadium and past the reviewing stand to her place in the stadium grass. As luck would have it, her delegation was lined up directly across from the Massachusetts delegation and directly facing them. A few moments later they saw another state delegation coming into the stadium. This delegation was from New York The person leading that delegation was none other than their old friend, Tabitha Smith. Betsy and Carol could not believe their eyes. The surprise was evident on their faces. As Tabitha led her delegation across the infield, she recognized her two old friends and smiled at them. Soon every state delegation was in the stadium. All of a sudden the Yale marching band began to play the Olympic theme. Suddenly a troupe of dancers entered the stadium and danced their way around the track. When they had completed their lap, they made their way into the center of the grass. Once there, the announcer stated that the theme of this Junior Olympics was going to be friendship in excellence. A video began to play on the large screen above the crowd. At the same time the dancing troupe was acting out scenes of friendship among the athletes. The show went on for about an hour. Finally, the show ended and everyone was encouraged to mingle among one another and perhaps make new friends. Before she dismissed her delegation, Ms. Cruickshank told them to have a good time but to be ready to return to their dorms before midnight, as that was when the bus would take them back. Carol and Betsy made their way over to their old friend, Tabitha. As they were talking, Marie came over to them and joined them. Soon all four girls were busily chatting away about their lives. A few other girls wandered over and introduced themselves. The crowd around them grew as more and more people came over to introduce themselves. Suddenly fireworks lit up the night sky. The display was captivating. All of the kids were enthusiastically watching the fireworks. When the grand finale exploded in a continuous maze of bright and dazzling color patterns, Carol realized that it was time to go back to the dorms. When the last of the fireworks faded into nothingness, all of the kids began moving to the stadium parking lot. Carol and Betsy were the last of their delegation to board their bus. It had been a fun filled evening. The games would begin in earnest the next morning.

The next day dawned very bright. The first event of the day for Carol was the preliminary round of the shot put. Her first attempt was a distance of 10 meters. It was enough to put her in the lead. When her turn rolled around again, she still had the lead so she passed her remaining attempts. She held the lead and easily qualified for the final round. Carol's next event was the discus throw. On her first attempt she fouled. When her turn came again, she had a throw of 25 meters. It was enough to move her into qualifying position. Her final attempt was a throw of 27 meters. Not only did she qualify but also she was now in second place.

Betsy's first judo match was in the morning. Her first opponent was a girl from SC who had a green belt. After a tough match, Betsy was declared the winner by a single point. A couple of hours later, she was called for her second round opponent. Betsy could not believe her eyes. Her second round opponent was her roommate, Marie. Apparently, one of Marie's teammates had sprained an ankle at the opening ceremonies and Marie had to take her place. Betsy noticed that Marie had the rank of a purple belt. As the two combatants met in the center of the mat, Betsy was a bit apprehensive and swallowed nervously. The two girls circled each other looking for an opening. Betsy tried her favorite move only to have it reversed on her and Marie tossed her to the mat. As she got up, Marie tossed her over her shoulder and again put her down. As they separated, Marie moved in to try to sweep Betsy off her feet. Betsy grabbed Marie and took her legs out from under her. Thinking quickly, Marie caught Betsy and used a move called tomanage to flip Betsy over her outstretched leg and to the mat. Betsy quickly regained her balance and flipped Marie over her shoulder to the mat. When Marie gained her footing, Betsy was ready for her and was able to sweep her again. This Time Betsy used tomanage on Marie, and as she did so, she heard a crack. Betsy looked and her opponent was very still. Betsy was stunned. Marie was obviously injured. Betsy was barely aware of the bell sounding to end the match. Quickly she made her way over to her fallen friend. The medics also rushed over to Marie. "It looks like her shoulder is broken," one of them said. They helped Marie to a sitting position, her left arm was hanging loosely and the twelve year old girl was obviously in a lot of pain and trying not to cry. Betsy remembered when she had been hurt in a Karate class; her sensei had rubbed his hands together and put them on her injured area. He had shown Betsy how to do the healing move. While she had never actually had to use this move, Betsy took pride in being a good student in her craft and decided to do the same thing to Marie. She hoped she could do it right. She rubbed her hands together very rapidly getting them exceedingly hot. Marie was injured on her left shoulder. Betsy applied her hot hands to Marie's shoulder and gently pressed in a circular motion. Suddenly, Betsy could feel some sort of invisible force flowing through her hands and into Marie's shoulder. All of a sudden, Marie felt her arm pop back into her shoulder socket and the pain quickly subsided. The medics were stunned when she began to twist and flex her arm.

"Are you all right miss?" One medic asked her. The two medical personnel were stunned to say the least. They were quite sure that the shoulder or collarbone had been broken. Neither of them could believe that Betsy, by applying slight pressure to the shoulder, had been able to fix what appeared to be a broken bone. For her part, Betsy could not believe what had happened either. She had not finished applying the healing move when Marie's miraculous recovery had occurred. It seemed that some mysterious force had flowed through her body into Marie's and caused the healing.

Marie nodded her head and began to get back to her feet. The two girls moved into the center of the mat where Betsy was declared the winner. As they shook hands, Marie leaned in and whispered to Betsy, "Ah don't know what y'all did ta mah shoulder but thanks. It feels much bettah." As the two girls left the mat, a man in a wheel chair started moving towards the exit.

Meanwhile, outside at the stadium, Carol had moved into the final of both the shot put and the discus. As she waited for her turn in the shot put, she was watching her fellow competitors. Suddenly, a burly girl from NC stepped into the ring. As she whirled and tossed the shot, Carol followed the flight of the iron sphere. She winced when she heard the distance: 16.5 meters. Carol's personal best in this event was a mere 14.2 meters. Her heart sank as she realized that she was now in a very distant second place. Carol continued to watch the other contestants. No one else had even reached her distance. Finally, it was Carol's turn. As the leader of the preliminary round, she had to watch as everyone else took their shots at the burly girl and her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the ring. As she cradled the shot beneath her neck, she said to herself 'Just relax, Carol and do your best.' After pausing for a second, Carol hopped and spun and launched the heavy iron sphere, with a loud grunt. Carol watched as the sphere sailed through the air. She was surprised at how far it flew. Clearly it was going to be her personal best ever. It landed very close to where the NC girl's throw had landed. Carol was elated when the announced her distance. 16.55 meters. She had taken the lead.

Every one was amazed. Many of the other competitors just shrugged. It looked like Carol and the other girl were the class of the event. Finally, one girl launched her second shot. It sailed 13.7 meters. The young woman was thrilled. She had moved into third place and had one more attempt remaining to overtake the two frontrunners. Next up was the quiet girl from NC who was in second place. Smiling, she stepped into the ring. As she launched her shot, it sailed and landed right next to Carol's position. The official measured the distance carefully. After a few agonizing moments, the distance was announced: 16.55 meters. She had moved into a tie with Carol. She grinned at Carol. The usually boring event had just taken a quantum leap up the excitement ladder. A sense of energy filled the remaining competitors. Each one of them seemed to put the shot better than before. Although none of them had moved into the top three spots, their distances all got better. Finally, it was Carol's turn for her second shot. Eagerly she stepped into the ring and cradled the shot. Once again she paused. Then quick as a flash, she hopped and whirled around launching the shot. This time, it traveled a distance of 16.56 meters. She had retaken the lead. Carol grinned at the other girl. Her joy was to be short lived however. A few moments later, the girl in third place stepped into the ring. As she whirled and hopped, her shot sailed and landed just in front of Carol's position. Once again, the distance was carefully measured. 16.8 meters. Both Carol and the girl from NC were shocked. The third girl had just taken the lead from them. The competition had heated up. There were now three contenders for the gold medal. Next up was the burly girl from NC. She heaved her shot with all of her might. It landed just ahead of the other girl's effort. The distance was 16.81 meters. She had retaken the lead and guaranteed herself at least a silver medal. Carol had closed her eyes after she had lost her lead. She did not see the NC girl's final toss. However, she reopened her eyes when that distance was announced. Carol realized that she was going to have to have her best ever if she were to win the competition. Once again, she closed her eyes and did not watch the rest of the competitors She already knew what she would have to do. At long last, it was her turn. The final toss of the competition would determine who was going to get the Gold medal Carol stepped into the ring and picked up her shot. She took several deep breaths before she cradled it under her neck. Then she hopped and spun around before launching the iron ball. As it left her palm, Carol smiled. It had felt good. She watched as it soared into the air. When it came down, it appeared to be just in front of the Girl from NC. Once again the official carefully measured the distance. Finally, the measurement was announced: 16.811 meters. Each contestant looked at the three shots in question. The official measured each one again to verify the accuracy of their measurements. Finally, they were satisfied and announce that Carol had won the competition. She walked over to the other two girls and held out her hand. The girl from NC grasped Carol's outstretched hand. "Great job," she said to Carol. "I am Pam." The third girl also shook Carol's hand. "My name is Athena," she said. Carol smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Carol. Carol Danvers."

The three girls had talked a few minutes when they heard the announcement for the discus throw at the other end of the stadium infield. As it turned out, all three of them were also entered in the discus throw. Pam was currently ranked third based on the preliminary round. She was only a couple of inches behind Carol. The real surprise was the fact that Athena was the front runner by a wide margin. They were the last three contestants in the discus throw. As they took their places in line, they heard several girls talking about them. It seemed that most of the other kids felt that they had little chance against Carol, Sam, and Athena. The first throws looked pretty bad. The best throw was about 20 meters. Finally, it was Sam's turn. As she spun and let the discus fly, her toe crossed the line. Sam had fouled her first attempt. Carol was the next one up. Her throw was a good one. It went about 24.5 meters. Athena was the last one to go. As she whirled and spun around, she let the discuss fly. The throw was perfect. It sailed a total distance of 30 meters. She was way out in front again. The field went through the second round. One girl managed to get a throw of 27.5 meters. She had edged Carol. Finally, it was Sam's turn in the second round. This time, her throw was on the mark. It sailed a distance of about 32 meters. She had taken the lead. Carol was next. She whirled and spun and launched the discus. Unfortunately, she heard the whistle blow. Her foot had crossed the line. She had fouled and her throw did not count. Carol had fallen back to fourth place with only one throw remaining. Athena also fouled her second attempt. The final round saw one more surprise. A very large girl from Connecticut hurled the discus an astonishing 34 meters. She was beside herself because she had taken the lead. Sam was astonished. When her turn came, her final throw went 34 meters as well. She had tied for the lead. Next up was Carol. She swung the discus in her arm a couple of times, then she whirled and spun around, letting the flat metal disc fly. It sailed a distance of 33 meters. She had jumped to third place. Overall Carol was pleased with her effort. Athena stepped up for her final attempt. She was currently out of the medals thanks to Carol's last throw. She stepped into the ring and stretched her self. Picking up the discus, she swung it a few times like Carol had done, then she spun herself around and let the discus fly. The throw was her personal best ever. The officials carefully measured the toss as it had landed very close to the two leaders. Finally, the distance was announced: 34.01 meters. Athena had won the competition by the smallest possible margin, 1-centimeter. Carol was the first one over to her to congratulate her. As she shook Athena's hand, she smiled. "Great throw, Athena!"

Carol looked around. She still had a couple of hours to go before her 100-meter dash qualifying heats began. She decided to go watch the rest of the field events. As she was watching the pole-vaulters, she heard the announcement that the medals for the shot put and discus were to be awarded. She slowly made her way over to the medal platform. She had arrived just in time to hear her name announced as the winner of the shot put event. She climbed up on to the gold medal platform and received her gold medal. She was about to leave the area when she heard her name being called again. She had assumed that since there was a tie for the silver, no bronze would be awarded. She was totally shocked to hear her name called as the bronze medal winner. It was with a huge smile that she ascended that 3rd place platform. "Sometimes, the unexpected reward is a greater cause for joy than an expected one," she thought.

After the medal ceremonies, Carol wandered up to the end of the track where they were setting up for the 100-meter dash preliminaries. Carol went up to an official. "Can you tell me which heat I will be in?" She asked. "My name is Carol Danvers." The official looked at his clipboard.

"You are in heat one lane 5," he told her. "There will be five heats in the first round. The winner of each heat and the next top five finishers overall will go to the finals."

Carol smiled when she heard the news. She enjoyed getting the preliminary rounds out of the way quickly. As an after thought, she asked what heat Marie Darkeholme was in. The official looked at his chart once again. "Ms Darkeholme will be in heat five, lane 4," he told her. Carol began to stretch in preparation for her first heat. Then she started to practice getting into the starting blocks and her start. Soon others started arriving in the area. Carol saw Marie go up to the official. She did not appear to be happy with the news about being in heat 5. To her surprise she also saw Tabitha walk up to the official. Tabitha and Marie both came over to Carol. Marie was visibly upset. "Why do Ah have ta be en th last heat?" She asked, angrily. "Ah hate the last heat. Ya have ta wait until everyone else is finished."

Carol looked at her roommate. "Perhaps, it is a question of numbers. They have so many entrants that they have to do them in heats to allow everyone to race," she said. Turning to Tabitha, Carol asked her: "Are you in the 100, too, Tabitha?" What heat are you in?"

Tabitha nodded. "I am in heat 4, lane 10," Tabitha said. Just then they heard an announcement. "All contestants for the girls' 100 meter dash 1st heat report to the starting line."

"That's my cue," Carol said. "I have to go. I'll see you soon." With that she moved over to the starting line and took her position in her lane. Carol knelt down and adjusted the starting blocks for her race. Soon, every one had reported. The other contestants had all adjusted their starting blocks as well. Then the starter called out: "Runners take your marks." Everyone got into their starting blocks. The starter raised his arm and called out "Get set." Everyone raised up ready to explode. "Bang" went the starter's gun. Everyone shot out of the starting blocks. Carol got a very clean start and exploded into the lead. 12.6 seconds later, she crossed the finish line first. She had qualified for the finals. She smiled as she left for the infield. She wanted to watch the rest of the heats, so she sat down near the finish line. A few moments later, they called the contestants for the second heat to the starting line. The starter got the runners off to a clean start. The top two runners crossed the line together in a time of 12.9 seconds. In heat 3, there was a false start the first time the starter tried to get the race going. The second attempt was clean, however. The first place time was 12.8 seconds. Finally, it was Tabitha's turn. Before the runners were called to the starting line, Carol crossed the track so that she was on the outside in order that she could cheer her friend on. "Runners, take your marks," the announcer called. "Get set." Suddenly there was the explosion of the gun. Ten runners sprinted down the track. All of them were very close. Suddenly, Tabitha and the girl in lane 1 seemed to pull ahead of the field about 25 meters from the finish line. Tabitha crossed first with a time of 12.65 seconds while the girl in lane one crossed the line in 12.67 seconds. Carol went up to her friend. "Great race, Tabitha. It looks like you made the finals too," she said. "Let's cross to the infield to watch the last heat. "My roommate is in this one." Quickly, they crossed the track back to the infield. Just then, the starter called the runners for the last qualifying heat. Betsy who had finished her judo competition for the day joined Carol and Tabitha. She had advanced to the semi finals to be held the next day. She also had to get ready for the 200 meter run. She had to participate in this event if she wanted to be available for the 4x200 meter relay team even if she did not do as well as the rest of the field. They were standing near the finish line as the starter told the runners to take their marks, get set and then the gun went off followed by another shot. It was a false start. Carol strained to see who the nervous runner was. It had been Marie. One more false start and she would be disqualified from the event. All of the runners returned to their starting blocks and took their positions. This time the start was clean. Marie jumped out to the lead and very quickly put the field behind her. She crossed the finish line in 12.58 seconds to qualify first in the finals.

As the officials were deciding who the finalists were going to be, Carol, Marie, Betsy and Tabitha all made their way across the track to where the 200-meter race would be started. Carol and Marie were together in the first heat. This time Marie was in lane 5 and Carol was in lane 1.Betsy and Tabitha was each in heat number three. Betsy was out in lane 10 while Tabitha was in lane 4. In this race, there were going to be three heats. Once again, the first place winner would qualify from each heat followed by the top 7 remaining finishers. Carol set herself in her starting blocs and adjusted them to her comfort. She could see Marie about twenty five meters in front of her because of the staggered starting positions. The starter called out "Runners take your marks." As he raised the starting gun above his head, he called "Get set." As all the runners raised themselves into ready position, he paused for just an instant and then the gun was fired. Carol and Marie both got cleanly out of the starting blocks and began hurtling around the track. They were among the lucky ones. One of the runners tripped and fell causing two other runners to also fall. Carol and Marie surged out in front of the rest of the field. As the two friends came down the homestretch where the staggered starts evened out, it became apparent that Carol had a slight lead. She crossed the finish line in 21.50 seconds while Marie was across the line in 21.55 seconds. The second heat saw the first place finisher come in with a time of 22.7 seconds. The final heat paired Tabitha with Betsy. This heat saw Betsy get flagged for a false start. On the second attempt, the race was clean from the gun. Betsy and Tabitha came down the homestretch nearly tied for the lead. As they neared the finish line, Betsy started sprinting harder to catch her friend. At the last second, Betsy leaned forward and caught the tape at exactly the same moment as Tabitha. The officials looked perplexed. Both girls were clocked in 21.8 seconds. A man from a local TV station happened to be there filming the race. The track officials persuaded him to show the tape to them in order to determine the winner of the heat. They looked at the race several times before deciding that it was truly a tie and that both girls would be sent to the finals with identical times.

Betsy, Carol, Marie and Tabitha were waiting together in the infield while the officials decided the outcome of the third heat. After a few moments, all four of them wandered over to the starting line where the 100 meters had begun. There Marie, Tabitha and Carol were informed of their lane assignments for the 100 meter finals to be held the next day. Marie had qualified first and was in lane 4. Carol was in lane 5 and Tabitha was in lane 3.The girl from Tabitha's heat who finished 2 one hundredths of a second bend her was in lane 6. Once they had their lane assignments, the officials told them that the finals would be at 8:30 am the next day. Then the group made their way to the finish line area to check on positions for the 200-meter finals, also to be held the next day. Carol was placed in lane 4, Marie was in lane 5 and Betsy and Tabitha had to draw lots for their lane positions. Betsy was placed in lane 3 while Tabitha was placed in lane 6. The officials then told them that the finals for the 200 meters would be held at 10:00 am. For Marie and Carol, the next day was going to prove to be a long one. Not only did they have their two sprint finals, but the swimming preliminaries were that afternoon as well. The four friends were now all done with their first day's events and settled into to watch and cheer on their teammates in their own events. Finally it was time to return to the dorms. The girls were all happily exhausted by their first day.

****

Well, what do you think. Rogue and Carol have finally met and competed against each other. One of Betsy's mutant abilities has manifested itself and the excitement is just beginning. There are several surprises waiting in chapter 8, which will present the conclusion of the Junior Olympics and a surprise visitor to Carol and Betsy's dorm. Please let me know what you think of this fic. Use the review button that has been provided. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Just a side note, I have another fic being co-written by Heartsy Hawk entitled The End of The world. Please read that one too. Help both of us by reviewing. Thanks


	8. The Junior Olympics part 2

**__**

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE JUNIOR OLYMPICS PART 2

The next morning, Carol and Marie went to the track together. Carol and Marie were stretching and getting ready for their first event, the 100 meter dash. As they set their blocks for the race, the two kids were talking more and more. Carol thought Marie's accent was cool. Marie thought that Carol was pretty neat. As they talked, the girls discovered that they had something in common. Both of them had been adopted as young children. Marie had been adopted by a woman named Raven Darkholme. Unfortunately, her mother was not home very much so Marie spent most of her time in the company of a blind woman named Irene Adler. This woman would often tell Marie stories about her and her mother's adventures in college. It turned out that Marie's adopted mother had been an athlete in college. She was a runner, like Marie. While Marie enjoyed the sprints, Raven Darkholme had been a middle distance runner and also ran the 400 meter hurdles. Raven had encouraged her daughter to try out for her middle school track team and that is how she had ended up at the Junior Olympics. Carol and Betsy were both natural runners. Ever since they were kids running around Boston common, they had enjoyed running. They had started running competitively in middle school and were now sophomores in high school and on the high school track team. Carol was also an a swim team in her town. She had also completed junior lifeguard training and was hoping to qualify to be a full fledged lifeguard after the Junior Olympics were over. She wanted to work at the local pool during the summer.

Soon, it was time for the kids to race. Everyone had reported in and their blocks were all set. The starter called out "Runners take your marks," raising his pistol as he did so. "Get set." All the runners raised up in their starting blocks. "Bang" went the gun. The runners were off. Carol and Marie both exploded together out of the blocks. they both jumped out to the early lead. As the two streaked down the track, Carol was leaning forward. At the finish line Marie, leaned forward as well so that it appeared that both of them hit the tape at the same time . Fortunately, there was a news photographer at the Junior Olympics from the New Haven Register at the finish line. He had snapped a photo of the finish with his Polaroid camera. A few moments later the picture was fully developed. After viewing the photo, the officials scratched their heads. Clearly, the race was ... a tie. Both girls had come into contact with the tape at exactly the same time. And their times were identical from the timekeepers. They had both run identical 12.00 seconds times which was a new Junior Olympics record. Finally it was official. Both Carol and Marie would be given gold medals. Tabitha was declared the silver medallist and the girl in lane 6 was declared the bronze medallist.

Marie and Carol hugged each other when the results were finally announced. They were excited by what they had each accomplished. Soon Tabitha came over to join them. A few moments later, they were joined by Betsy who had just arrived at the stadium. Carol, Tabitha, Marie, and Betsy began moving over to the area for the 200 meters. That race was due to start in about a half hour. Betsy began stretching. Carol, Marie and Tabitha were already warmed up and ready to go. Then they all reported to the starting line to begin practicing their starts. Soon all the rest of the contestants had arrived at the starting line for the 200 meters. Carol felt butterflies flying in her stomach as the time drew near for her next race. She was also a bit tired. Carol had been engaged non stop for most of the previous two days with the Junior Olympic festivities and her track and field events and all the excitement was catching up to her. She still had a long day ahead of her too. Soon it was time for the second big race of the day. They took their positions in their lanes. Carol was just anxious to get the race over. She was looking forward to the break until 4:30 when she had her first qualifying swimming event- the 200 meter breaststroke. Perhaps that is why when the starter sounded the gun to start the race a second shot rang out. Carol had false started. Several of the other contestants were muttering curses under their breath as they returned to the starting line. Carol got back into her blocks and settled down. She knew that another false start would get her disqualified. The starter called the runners to their marks. Raising the gun, he said "Get set." Then the gun went off. Again a second shot rang out. This time it was Marie who got the flag for the false start. With a sheepish grin, she returned to the starting blocks. Finally, the starter was able to get a clean start. Betsy had gotten the best start and was flying around the turn. Marie and Carol were faced with the prospect of running her down. All of a sudden as they came out of the turn, Tabitha moved up to join Betsy in the lead. Carol had taken a slight advantage over Marie to move into the third spot. As they were closing in on the last 50 meters of the race, Carol and Marie had both over taken Tabitha and were closing in on Betsy. Betsy was running as hard as she could and when they got to the finish line, it was very close. Once again, the officials looked at a photo to determine the winner. This time there was not a tie for first but for second. Betsy just barely edged out her sister and Marie. They once again had identical times and Tabitha beat out a hard charging girl from Michigan for the bronze medal. The four friends moved into the infield when the results were announced after about ten minutes of discussion. Betsy was astounded. She had run a personal best of 21.45 seconds and more importantly accomplished something she had never done before. She had beaten her sister Carol in a race. Carol and Marie were clocked at 21.47 seconds. Tabitha's time was 21.7 seconds, a personal best time for her as well. Lynne Cruickshank came rushing up to the four girls. "Congratulations, Betsy," she said when she finally caught her breath. "I want you to be on the 4 x 200 relay team. Instead of being an alternate, I want you to run the leadoff leg. Qualifying is tomorrow at noon." Betsy was pleased and excited. She had beaten her sister in the race and impressed her coach to make the main team of the relay. In addition, she was looking forward to her afternoon semifinal match up in the Judo tournament. She was guaranteed a bronze medal in Judo with a strong possibility of a gold or silver medal. Her Karate event would start later in the evening. She too had a busy day remaining ahead of her. The four friends exchanged hugs and then reported to the medal platform for the medal ceremony for the 100 meters. Carol and Marie held hands and ascended the gold medal stand. Tabitha was also smiling as she stepped up top receive the silver medal. A few moments later, Betsy had the biggest smile on her face when she stepped up to the gold medal platform for the 200 meters. Carol and Marie both accepted their silver medals and Tabitha grinned as she received the bronze. "Not too shabby for a girl who did not think she would even qualify in these two events," she said as she held up her two medals. When the two medal ceremonies were over, Tabitha was accosted by her coach. "Tabby, one of our members of the 4 x 400 relay team has hurt her ankle in the long jump. Do you think you could step in for her? I know you don't usually run that distance but we really need your help."

Tabitha was surprised at her coach's request. She had only run the 400 meters in practice a couple of times. She was not worried about her handoffs because she was a member of the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 meter relay teams. Her main concern was her stamina at the distance. "Can I run either leadoff or anchor, coach? I want to help but I am concerned about my stamina at that distance and I do not want to hurt the team's chances in the race."

"Of course, Tabby. We will discuss positioning later. Qualifying is tomorrow at 3:00 p.m."

As the four moved away from Tabitha's coach they decided to go to Marie's, Carol's and Betsy's room to talk. Betsy did not have her judo match until about 3:00 that afternoon. It was only a little after 11:00. Once inside the room, Carol flopped on her bed and looked at her long time friend. "Tabitha, tell us about your life in New York. What have you been doing with yourself all these years?"

Tabitha hung her head in shame. Her life had not been very pleasant. About a year after she had moved to Bayville, her father had lost his job as a fireman in town and was unable to find a job. While her mother was able to support the family on her salary, her father had sunk into the depths of depression. He had taken out his anger and misery on Tabitha. Ultimately, in order to prevent being beaten by her father, Tabitha had agreed to help her father to steal things and participate in robberies. She would use her power to make explosives in order to disable alarms. Then she would take the valuables and give them to her father. She also liked to use the five fingered discount in department stores. She was quite good at shoplifting and was able to procure quite the collection of clothes and jewelry for herself. During this time, she had also fallen into the world of drugs . She was not only a user but a seller of Cocaine and Heroin. Any money the young girl made was immediately given to her father. One day she made a big mistake and offered a large bag of heroin for sale to an undercover narcotics cop. Tabitha was immediately arrested and taken to jail. Once inside the police station, the police found out that Tabitha was only 14 at the time. Because she was a juvenile, her parents were called. As luck would have it, her father was not at home when the call was made. Unfortunately for Tabitha, her mother had come home for lunch that day and answered the phone. Sara Smith could not believe her ears when she was told that the Bayville Police were calling to talk to her about her daughter's arrest on charges of possession with intent to sell Heroin and Cocaine to an undercover officer . Sara had dropped the phone in shock. After a few moments, she had recovered sufficiently to tell the police she would be right down. She called her job and told them she had a family emergency and would not be in the rest of the day. Then she went down to the police station to get her daughter. Once again Sara was in a state of shock. She had been so busy with her career trying to support her family that she had not noticed what had been happening. When Tabitha was led out of her cell to be released to her mother, both of them started crying. Sara was crying because her daughter was coming out of a jail cell. Tabitha was crying because her mother had to see her in this condition. She knew she had let her mother down. When the ordeal at the police station was finally over, mother and daughter went home. On the way home, Tabitha told her mother everything including the beatings and abuse she had endured at the hands of her father, the robberies, burglaries and shoplifting he had her do, the shoplifting she had done for herself, and about her ability to make explosive balls of energy. Sara was stunned at the vile details being shared. When they arrived at their home, Sara called the police and asked that a detective come over to their house. A few minutes later, an unmarked police car pulled up in front of the house. Detective Marjorie Houston came into the house and introduced herself to Tabitha and Sara. As she sat down, Tabitha again told her story. The detective was suddenly very angry. When Tabitha was finished with her tale, Detective Houston called for additional officers to be dispatched to the house. As ten squad cars pulled up, Tom Smith made his way into the house. He stopped short when he saw Sara sitting there. Her expression was one of violent anger. He started to say something when he noticed another woman pull a gun out of a holster and point it right at him. "Tom Smith, You are under arrest," Detective Houston said.

Tom looked at the gun and wondered if he could try to escape. The look on the detective's face told him not to even bother trying. She told him that she would not hesitate to shoot "his evil, slime bucket head off of his foul, vile shoulders if he bothered to move." Just then twenty cops came pouring through the door behind him. Tom raised his hands and surrendered. He was quickly handcuffed and quite forcefully thrown into one of the police cruisers and driven away. Tabitha and her mother were glad that the horror was over. Once he was gone, Detective Houston asked Tabitha if she was a mutant. Tabitha was not sure what she meant. Detective Houston then explained that a mutant had some special ability that was not found in everyday people. They were often viewed as being dangerous or evil persons. Tabitha was stunned. She realized that her ability to make explosive balls of energy probably qualified her to be a mutant. She thought she could be considered dangerous. Slowly, she nodded her head to Detective Houston and told her about her ability to make explosive energy balls with her hands. Marjorie Houston then did something strange. She moved over to the young girl and gave her a hug. "It's all right, child. It's all right." After she comforted the girl for a few minutes, she looked at Sara. "Your daughter is a mutant. I am going to give you the name of someone who may be able to help you and your daughter with this situation. I have worked with this man many times in similar circumstances. He is right here in Bayville. Your lives are about to get very difficult over the next few months. Don't be afraid to talk to this man." She took out a card and wrote a man's name and address on the back of the card: Charles Xavier, Institute for Gifted Students. She also wrote a phone number for him.

As Tabitha brought her mind to the present, she wondered whether she should tell her friends about her past. She knew they might not like her anymore. Her story had a good ending, however. Her mother had called Xavier and he had helped them. Tabitha's case had been resolved with her getting sentenced to probation for four years and being placed in the custody of Charles Xavier. She also had to return everything she had stolen for herself and testify against her father. Finally she was given 1000 hours of community service. When the case was settled, Tabitha had moved into the institute with her mother's blessing. Sara had divorced Tom Smith and taken their home and everything else he had. In order to be close to her daughter, she had given up her career as a mortgage executive and had become a teacher of life skills at Xavier's Institute. Professor Xavier had been able to harness the wild streak within Tabitha and encouraged her to become involved with Bayville's girl's track program. That was how she had ended up in the Junior Olympics. Finally, Tabitha looked back at Carol. She decided that her story needed to be told. "It's a long and often tragic story, Carol. Are you sure that you want to hear it? My life has been anything but pleasant for the past several years." Then she told her friends her story. Just as she was finishing up, there was a knock on the door.

Marie got up to answer the door. She was greeted by a bald man in a wheelchair.

"Good afternoon, girls. Is this the room of Betsy Danvers?"

Betsy was shocked. "Yes," she answered. "I am Betsy Danvers." As she crossed the room, to meet the stranger, Tabitha got up with her. "Hi, Professor Xavier," Tabitha said.

"Well, hello, Tabitha. How did you do today?" he asked as he turned towards her.

Tabitha grinned. I was able to earn a silver in the 100 meters and a bronze in the 200 meters. I was also asked to fill in for a person who injured her ankle in the 4 x 400 meter relay tomorrow."

Betsy looked at the man and at Tabitha. Tabitha laughed. "Yes, Betsy. I know the Professor. He is the one I told you about, the one who gave me a purpose in my life."

Betsy turned to the man in the wheelchair. "What can I do for you, Mr. Xavier?" she asked politely.

Professor Xavier looked thoughtfully at the young woman before him. He chose his words carefully. He new the news he was bringing could change her life. After a few moments, he spoke up. "My name is Charles Xavier. I have come here to speak with you because it has come to my attention that you may have become a mutant and do not yet know it. I would like to help you with this gift."

"What gift is that, Professor Xavier?" asked Carol as she crossed the room to stand near her sister.

"And you are?" the professor asked.

Carol stared down at the man. "I am Carol Danvers, Betsy's sister." she replied. "What gift are you talking about, sir?"

Suddenly, Betsy looked at the clock. It was nearly 2:00p.m. "I am sorry, Professor Xavier, but I am going to have to cut this conversation short. I have a Judo match in an hour and I have to get ready. Perhaps we can talk later?" she asked politely.

"Of course," Professor Xavier answered. "Bon chance."

Marie let Professor Xavier out of their room. He was soon followed by Tabitha. "I have to go meet with my coach about tomorrows relay competitions," she said. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Betsy quickly took a shower and got ready for her judo competition. When she was done, Carol also got ready for her swimming competition. When they were ready, they said goodbye to Marie. Carol told her that the 400 meter backstroke qualifying heats would begin at 6:30 pm. Then they both headed to the Judo building. It was nearly 2:55 when they walked in. Betsy quickly found her Judo coach and reported in to the officials. Betsy's match was the second of the two semifinal matches. She quietly watched the two girls in the first match. One was a Chinese girl from California. The other was a lively brown haired girl from Illinois. Both of them were very good. The match went for the entire time limit and was very close. Betsy thought that the girl from California had fought the better fight but to her surprise the points were tied at the end of the bout. This led to a three minute overtime period. This period also went the entire three minutes. Finally, the winner was announced. It was the girl from Illinois, Miss Katherine Pryde. A few minutes later, Betsy stepped onto the mat. She looked across the mat at her opponent. It was a girl of Native American origin. She had never seen the girl before but one look told her that this bout would require all of Betsy's skill and training. Her opponent, announced as Danielle Moonstar, was wearing a black belt with three stripes on it. The bell sounded and the two girls began circling one another. Betsy moved in and tried to sweep Ms. Moonstar off her feet. However, Danielle was well trained herself and flipped Betsy to the mat. Betsy got up and started circling once again. When Danielle moved to grab hold of Betsy, Betsy reversed the move and sent Danielle to the mat. Then she caught her again and tossed her down. Danielle tried to use tomanage on Betsy, but she leaped out of the girl's grasp. Thinking quickly, Betsy flipped her over the shoulder once again. Danielle had the breath knocked from her and was slow to get up. When she had regained her feet she was unsteady and fell back to the mat. The officials ran over to see if she could continue. Once again, Betsy had defeated an opponent who could not continue the match. She went over to her still dazed opponent and extended her hand. As Danielle Moonstar grabbed her had, Betsy once again felt some kind of force flow through her hand and into Danielle Moonstar. Suddenly, Danielle felt her mind clear and she was able to stand on her two feet. As she stood up, she told Betsy that she was impressed by her fighting technique and hoped to meet her again. Betsy had about two hours until the final match was to be fought. She joined her sister and headed over to the pool area which was in the next building over.

As they entered the building the smell of chlorinated water hung heavily in the air. Carol made her way over to the officials and checked in. She was in heat 5 and lane 4 for the 200 meter Breaststroke event. Suddenly, she understood how Marie had felt the day before about being in the last heat. Having to wait while everyone went ahead of her was nerve wracking at best. Finally, it was time for her to mount the starting blocks. Unlike the track starters, there was no gun used in swimming. Instead, a horn sounded to begin the race. Carol got off to a quick start. Right out of her dive, she found herself in the lead. By the first turn she had a full body length lead. Her quick powerful strokes and strong kicks kept widening her lead. At the end of the second turn she was two full lengths ahead and pulling away. Carol continued her pace and turning into the home stretch, she began to pick up her pace a bit. All of the people in the crowd were on their feet cheering for what they thought was likely to be a Junior Olympic record. It was an amazing time of 3 minutes 25.05 seconds. Not only was it a Junior Olympics record but it was an American record as well. Carol had advanced to the finals to be held the next day. As she climbed out of the pool, she saw Professor Xavier talking with her sister, Betsy in the stands. Carol toweled off and when she was nearly dry, put on her warm ups so she would not get chilled. As she made her way over to them, Professor Xavier seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "I am afraid it is my turn to leave," he said after a few moments. One of my students seems to need my help."

As he wheeled himself away, Carol watched. She was also deep in thought contemplating her next event, the 400 meter backstroke. Once again, she would be sharing the event with her roommate Marie. Her thoughts were interrupted by her sister. "Carol, I have to go back to the Judo building. My final match is in 15 minutes." Carol quickly snapped back to reality when she heard her sister's voice. Together, they made her way back to the judo building. As they entered the building, Marie noticed that Professor Xavier was talking to the young woman she was about to meet in her final match. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Katherine Pryde. Marie wondered what the professor wanted to talk to her about and where did this other girl fit in. Was she the student who needed his help. As she was thinking about this turn of events, Marie checked in with the officials and moved to the edge of the mat. A few seconds later, Miss Pride finished up her conversation with the professor and also moved to the edge of the mat. The officials were in a conversation and were not ready to start the match. Betsy, seeing that she had a little time, went over and introduced herself to her opponent. "I am Betsy Danvers," she said holding out her hand. Kitty, accepted the hand and replied: "My name is Katherine Pryde but my friends all call me Kitty." They talked for a few more minutes and the officials came over and told them to get ready the match was about to start. Marie returned to her side of the mat just as the announcer was beginning to make the introductions.

"Ladies and Gerntlemen, Welcome to the ladies gold medal bout in Judo, lightweight division. Our contestants tonite are: From the birthplace of liberty, Boston, Massachusetts, with a rank of a red belt, Miss Betsyyyyyyyyyyyy Daaaannnversssssssssssssssssssssss," called the announcer. "From the city of broad shoulders, Chicago, Illinois, with the rank of a brown belt, Miss Kitttttttttttttttttttttttttty Pryyyyyyyyydde." Both girls stepped to the center of the mat and shook hands. Then they took their positions at the starting point. Both girls bowed to one another and the bell rang signaling the start of the match.

Unbeknownst to the girls, events were about to transpire which would alter their lives forever. High up in the stands stood a lone person. This person took out a blue bag and reached inside it. The person pulled out a rifle with a high powered scope on it. Next, the assassin pulled out a silencer which was quickly put on the rifle. The person took a practice aim and got the target sighted. All this would-be murderer was waiting for was the right moment.

The match started out slowly. At the sound of the bell, the two girls began circling one another. The person up in the rafters raised the rifle and began to slowly squeeze the trigger. Betsy, oblivious to the danger, took two steps to her right, just as the trigger was pulled on the rifle. A split second later, she let out a horrible scream and collapsed to the mat, blood covering the back of her judo uniform.

"Drat it," the assassin thought. "So close and I blew it"

**That is it for now folks. Sorry about the cliffhanger. No I am not. Stay tuned until next time. Be sure to read and review. Reviews inspire me and fuel my writing. Also I am co writing a fic with Heartsy Hawk entitled "The End of the World" We would appreciate you reading and reviewing that one as well.**


	9. Enter The XMen

Disclaimer: Does any one out there really believe that someone who is poorer than the poorest church mouse really owns Marvel or DC or any of their characters? If you do, I am praying for you. Unfortunately, I do not own any of these characters or their organizations.

Last time: Marie and Carol went to the track together...The winner was clearly ... a tie...The race was very close. Once again, the officials had to look at a photo to determine the winner. This time there was not a tie for first but for second...Betsy had accomplished something she had never done before... "I want you to run the 4x200 meter relay... first leg" ...Betsy ...went over to her opponent and introduced herself...A split second later, she let out a horrible scream and collapsed to the mat, blood covering the back of her judo uniform.

**__**

Chapter Nine

Enter the X-Men

The audience was stunned into silence. Then pandemonium broke loose and panic set in. Quickly security personnel formed a ring about the Judo contestants. Carol literally flew to her sister's side. She was deeply angered over this. "Who could have wanted to murder my sweet, innocent sister," she thought. A few moments later their parents who had to make their way through the immense crowd of spectators joined her. They had just arrived from Boston about an hour before and were getting ready to watch their daughters compete in the Junior Olympics for the first time. Needless to say they were in a state of terrorized shock. Meanwhile the crowd had begun screaming and running in all directions. Carol scanned the crowd with her x-ray vision. She was hoping to see who had shot her sister. Unfortunately, the assassin had put the rifle in the blue bag which was lined with lead and joined the crowd and escaped from the building. A few moments later, the security personnel had cleared the building. The paramedics had arrived and were beginning to examine Betsy. Suddenly a big red X was displayed on the ceiling of the judo venue. Quickly, a crowd had gathered beside the bald man in the wheel chair, Professor Xavier. One of the crowds was a man in a white doctor's coat. After a few seconds of whispered conversation with Professor Xavier, Dr. Warren Worthington made his way over to where Betsy lay in a heap. Quickly, he found the gunshot wound. It was located just below Betsy's right shoulder. She had already lost a lot of blood. He pulled out a heavy gauze pad and began to press it on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. While Dr. Worthington was tending to Betsy, the crowd around Professor Xavier had grown. Suddenly every one of them shed their civilian clothes and the entire team of the X-Men and Women were standing ready to do battle. Most surprising to Carol was the appearance of Tabitha, as well as Betsy's opponent, Kitty Pryde in their X-Men uniforms. Cyclops was the first to speak. "Professor, it is safe to say that that young girl was not the intended target. Judging by the entry point of the bullet into her shoulder, I think she stepped in the way of the intended target." Professor X looked at his young charge. Then he calculated the apparent trajectory of the bullet and involuntarily shuddered. It appeared that young Betsy Danvers had inadvertently saved his life.

Dr Worthington continued working on Betsy. He had succeeded in stopping the flow of blood from her shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a tightening of her shoulders. He looked at Betsy who appeared to be unconscious. Suddenly, her muscles seemed to contract as if they were trying to force something out of her shoulder. A few seconds later, the bullet magically popped out from her skin and the wound rapidly closed up behind it. Except for the blood all over her Judo uniform, you would not know that Betsy had been injured at all. Dr. Worthington picked up the bullet and put it in his pocket. Then he picked up the still unconscious girl and carried her over to Xavier. Carol and her parents followed him to where the Professor was sitting with his team. Dr. Worthington looked at her. "Professor, this girl is going to need a lot of care. She is definitely a mutant." He handed the bullet to the Professor.

At that moment, Betsy woke up. "Did some one get the number of the truck that hit me?" She asked.

Carol grabbed her sister. "You are okay, sis!" She exclaimed. "You had me so scared!" Turning to Professor Xavier, she asked: "What is going on here. Who are all these people?"

Professor Xavier looked at Carol. "First, these people are my X-Men. All of them are mutants who are at my institute learning to deal with their extraordinary abilities. Second, I do not know who is behind this. I will say this. Your sister saved my life. Apparently I am a target of an assassin. There are various individuals who would prefer that I not teach the mutants anything so that these people might attempt to destroy them. There are even some mutants that do not like my methods. They would prefer to wage war on non-mutant humans. I, on the other hand, try to teach peaceful coexistence between mutants and non-mutants."

Carol was very confused. "What exactly is a mutant?" She asked. "And why is my sister one of you?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "Miss Danvers, I think we need to talk. First, a mutant is a human being that possesses an extra chromosome in their DNA. This chromosome is what we call the X-Gene. It gives the individual a certain ability that normal humans do not possess. In the case of your sister, I felt the presence of her gift when she fought your roommate, Marie, and also when she fought Ms Moonstar earlier this evening. Both instances saw her cause an injury to her opponent and both times a force flowed from her into them and healed them. Further proof was exhibited while Dr. Worthington was treating her. Her body has healed itself and she is now uninjured. I am afraid, however, that her session at the Junior Olympics must be over. Betsy looked devastated to hear the news she had just been given. She had been looking forward to her time in the relay and to her karate events. "Sensing her discomfort, Professor Xavier turned to her. "Betsy, I know how disappointed you are. However, think about this for a minute. You were shot by a high caliber rife and seriously injured. How is it going to look if you have such a short recovery? And no scar to show for it?" Looking back at Carol, he again spoke. "As to why she is a mutant, no none knows the answer to why one person is a mutant and another in the same family isn't."

Betsy nodded. Just then, her coach, Ms Cruickshank, came running into the building. "Where is Betsy?" She yelled in a voice filled with panic. Betsy waved weakly at her. "Right here, Ms. Cruickshank."

Lynne Cruickshank looked at her pupil. "I heard you had been shot. Is that true?"

Betsy nodded. Then she told her coach what she knew of the story. As she finished, she showed her the bandage that Dr. Worthington had put on her shoulder. "Fortunately, the bullet did not go too deep and Dr. Worthington was able to remove it. It was just a flesh wound, he said. I'll be fine with a good night's rest."

Professor Xavier just looked at the girl. She had thought up the story herself without any prodding or telepathic help. Obviously she was good at thinking on her feet. He quickly and surreptitiously scanned Lynne's mind to see if she bought the story. It was not readily apparent that she did. She looked quizzically at the Professor. It was almost as if she knew he was trying to read her thoughts. She tried to read his mind but could not get in. . Unbeknownst to everyone, Lynne Cruickshank was a mutant telepath. She had heard of the Great Professor Xavier, of course. What mutant hadn't? But until now, she had never met him or any of his X-men. "Excuse me, aren't you Professor Xavier from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students?" She asked politely. "Perhaps you can tell me what is going on?"

"Yes, I am Charles Xavier. I am here to watch several of my students perform in the Junior Olympics. One of my students was in the gold medal bout against Betsy when all the excitement happened." He did not tell her about the assassination attempt on his life, as he did not feel she had a need to know about that. At that moment, Carol helped her sister to her feet. Betsy feigned weakness and slowly walked to the door. A few moments later, once she was outside, she resumed walking normally. She planned to run the relay race the next day. She wanted to run the second, third or anchor legs. This would allow her to run but not have to use starting blocks. Even though her injuries were healed, she did not want to reveal that. The plan was to have a bandage on her shoulder and tell everyone that it was a minor flesh wound. She did not like giving up her Karate but she really had no choice if she did not want to expose her mutant secret. Carol and Betsy went over to the swimming venue. It was time for Carol's qualifying heat in the 400-meter backstroke. As the entered into the building, Carol began to hear snippets of conversation from the Judo Venue. The conversation was between her parents, Lynne Cruickshank, and Professor Xavier. They were talking Betsy's newly awakened gift. Professor Xavier was telling them about his school for mutants and the X-men team. Soon they were joined by several other mutants that also told them about their experiences with Mr. Xavier's Institute. During the conversation, Marie Danvers asked a question. "Since both of our children are adopted, What are the odds of Carol also being a ... what did you call Betsy, a mutant?

Professor Xavier looked at the woman before him. "I would not know whether Carol is or is not a mutant. At this time, she has shown no signs of being a mutant in my presence. Without testing her for the X gene, we have no way of knowing whether she is or even if either of you may also carry a latent X gene yourselves. Unless you all are tested or some mutant ability manifests itself, we really have no way to know. I will tell you this, though. In my opinion, you and your husband are not likely to be mutants or your powers would have likely shown themselves by now. There are some who do not manifest until later in life but such occurrences are extremely rare. As for Carol, it is possible either way."

Marie and Joe seemed satisfied by the explanation. As strange as it seemed that their daughter was different, they still loved her and wanted what was best for her. Marie thought about how Betsy always told her she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. She wondered if that fact caused her powers to manifest in the way it had. Professor Xavier had explained that she had the power of healing. Unlike most mutants, which could only heal themselves, Betsy could heal others as well. She decided to ask the Professor about this question. "Professor Xavier, could one's life goals affect the manifestation of their mutant abilities? I mean, Betsy has always maintained that she wants to be a doctor, and now she has this mutant ability to heal people."

The professor smiled. "How and why a person's special gifts manifest the way they do is one of life's many mysteries. While her life ambition could have played a part in this manifestation, I really can not say yes or no to that question. Has Betsy ever shown her ability before coming to the Junior Olympics?"

Both Marie and Joe shook their heads. Suddenly, Joe remembered the incident from the orphanage just before they had adopted Carol and Betsy. As the event rushed forward to his mind, Joe slowly nodded his head. "There was one incident just before we adopted the girls. Remember, Marie, when Betsy broke her ankle by jumping off the swing at the orphanage. Tom and I took her to the hospital while you took care of the other kids there. The doctor showed us the x-rays. Her ankle was clearly broken. Yet when you took her back a week later for them to change the cast to a more permanent walking cast, he found no trace of the break. In fact her ankle had completely healed. You told me he was shocked. As I recall, she did not complain of any pain that whole week. Do you think her power kicked in then? I don't even recall her getting hurt at all since then."

Marie looked at her husband. "You are right," she replied. "I always thought she was a lucky child who never got hurt. But it all makes more sense now."

Professor Xavier chuckled. "It would appear that your daughter is very lucky, indeed," he said. "I would presume that her power did manifest those many years ago but no one realized it. How old was she when you adopted her?" the Professor asked.

"She was four when we adopted her," Marie Danvers replied. "Caron and Marie are both 16 now. And no they are not twins, either." Then Marie and Joe began telling the story of how they adopted the two girls."

The group continued talking for a few minutes more. In the end, the Danvers agreed to consider the possibility of allowing Betsy to go to the professor's school for training. After a few minutes, Joe and Marie excused themselves and made their way over to the swimming venue. Carol had already checked in and was waiting in her lane. Her heat was next. Her roommate had already raced and won her heat to qualify for the finals. As Joe and Marie Danvers took their seats, the starter called the girls to their marks. Carol took her position and awaited the horn signaling the start of her race. When it sounded, she launched herself backward into the pool. Her arms and legs were a blur as she propelled herself through the water. Any observer could tell that Carol was in a hurry to get the race over with. She was trying to force all of her anger into each stroke through the water. She reached the turn at the end of the first lap way out in front. She seemed to slow down a bit as she continued to churn the water. Apparently she had been successful in channeling her angry emotions into her strokes. When she had reached the final lap of the race Carol was nearly five lengths ahead of her nearest competitor. Carol coasted into the finish and made her way into the finals. When she got out of the pool, she found her parents and sister waiting for her. Quickly, she ran over to her family. She was really glad to see her entire family at her event. She was still worried about her sister, Betsy, even though she had seen her recover from the gunshot. After drying off, Carol and her family made their way to where Ms. Cruickshank was waiting. They did not even wait to see what Carol's time was. Had they cared to look they would have discovered that it was a Junior Olympic record and was only a fraction of a second off the current world record. Carol and Betsy wanted to see how she felt about Carol running the third leg of the relay and Betsy switching into Carol's anchor position. In this way, they hoped to minimize her "injury" and allow Betsy to compete. When they had reached her, they found their coach talking to Betsy's former opponent in the Judo finals, Miss Kitty Pryde. The judges of the event had decided to award the Gold medal to Miss Pryde and the Silver medal to Betsy since she was injured and technically had forfeited the match. Kitty, on the other hand, was asking Ms Cruickshank whether the Gold medal could be shared between her and Betsy. She felt it was only fair since the match had not been able to go forward. After a few moments discussion, Betsy, Kitty and Ms. Cruickshank decided to pursue the matter with the event's judges. The young valley girl from Chicago's offer impressed Ms. Cruickshank. As they talked to the judges, Kitty explained the situation. She had no problem sharing her gold medal since the match to determine the winner had not occurred because of the gunshot. It was only fair for them each to be awarded gold medals, as it was impractical to fight the match since Betsy was recovering from being shot. Like Ms. Cruickshank, the judges were impressed with Miss Pryde's offer. They agreed to award gold medals to both girls. Ms Moonstar and Ms. Lee would each be awarded silver medals and no bronze medals were to be awarded in the event. It was a terrific show of sportsmanship on the part of Kitty and the event officials were going to take advantage of it. The word quickly spread around what Kitty Pryde had done. Every where she went, people smiled at her and came up to her to shake her hand. Kitty Pryde was a hero to the Junior Olympics.

After the medal ceremony for Judo was performed, Betsy rejoined Carol and their parents. They had decided to go out to dinner to talk about the events of the day. With everything that had happened, there was a lot to talk about. Ms. Cruickshank had joined them at the restaurant. She too had a lot to discuss with her two athletes.

****

That is it for this chapter. Sorry that this chapter is so short. I hope all of you will take the time to read and review. I can promise some additional excitement will be happening in the next chapter. This chapter was mainly about Betsy but you will see the impact of her becoming a mutant healer in the next few chapters. See the little button marked review at the bottom left...Please use it so the good folks at Fan Fiction will not feel slighted. Good or bad, please let me know how I can make this story better.


	10. Sudden Impact

Disclaimer: Does any one out there really believe that someone who is poorer than the poorest church mouse really owns Marvel or DC or any of their characters? If you do, I am praying for you. Unfortunately, I do not own any of these characters or their organizations.

**__**

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER TEN

**__**

Sudden Impact

Carol thought about what she was going to say to Ms. Cruickshank. She definitely wanted her sister to be able to compete in the relay for her final event. She did not believe that there would be a problem if she was able to make handoffs with her left hand. Carol and Betsy were willing to run either 3rd or 4th legs but it was probably better to have Carol handing off to Betsy to avoid having someone else have to hand off to Betsy and expose their secret. The girls were being selfish in that they did not want to cut Betsy's Olympic experience short. They also believed that both of them gave their team the best chance to win. Using the alternate girl may be more practical but she had finished a distant fifth among the five girls in the 200-meter trials and was nursing a sore knee as well. She had tripped out of the starting blocks in her heat. The girl had gamely gotten up and finished her heat but had finished last.

Lynne Cruickshank was also thinking about what she was going to say to her two athletes and their parents. _Should she tell them about her mutant ability? How would they react? _She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she did not hear Betsy ask her a question. All of a sudden, she felt Betsy nudging her. "Earth to Ms. Cruickshank," she heard. Lynne turned her attention to Betsy. "Sorry, Betsy. I must have drifted off. What did you say?"

Betsy looked at her coach and repeated her question. "Do you think I can run anchor tomorrow instead of starting the relay? I don't want to use the starting blocks because of my shoulder."

Ms. Cruickshank looked at her two stars. It was clear that they had been working on this plan among themselves. She realized that they wanted to keep Betsy's ability a secret. They talked for a little while about the relay and the condition of the team. Ms. Cruickshank listened attentively and finally decided what she must do. She knew they were right and agreed to let Betsy run the anchor leg. None of them had considered using Betsy's ability on their teammate as an option. Unfortunately events were about to happen which could make that option a necessity.

Back at the dorms, the three other girls involved in the Massachusetts 4x200 meter relay team was discussing the day's events. They had not seen Betsy but had heard that she had been shot. They all knew that Betsy had been asked to run the first leg of the relay based on her showing in the 200-meter race. The girl who had fallen was very willing to allow Betsy to take her place. She now thought she might have to run anyway since Betsy was injured. She looked at the deep purple spot on her left knee. Her normal position was the starter on the relay but she saw no way to use starting blocks with a very tender bruise on her knee. As the three girls were talking, one girl was leaning back on her chair. Suddenly, she fell over and was knocked unconscious.

Back at the restaurant, Ms. Cruickshank was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Danvers about what to do with Betsy. She was just about to tell all of them about her own secret ability, when she heard one of her students crying out for help in her mind. Frowning a little, she excused herself and went to the ladies room to concentrate on what she was sensing. She quickly discovered that another one of her charges was injured. It was not turning out to be a good day for the Massachusetts delegation. She made her way back to the table and told the Danvers family about the situation and that she had to leave right away. No one questioned how she had found out about the incident.

After she had left, Carol and Betsy told their parents that they would have to get back to their dorm and rest. They both had big days ahead of them. In addition to the relay trials and hopefully the finals as well later in the day, Carol also had the finals of both of her swimming events to contend with. They both hugged their parents and left to go their dorm. Their parents paid their bill and took the rest of their dinners to go and went to their hotel. Both Marie and Joe Danvers were wondering what was going to happen next. Their whole world had just been turned upside down. Little did they know that events were about to transpire which would change their lives forever.

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Once again, Marie and Carol were the first ones up in their room. Each one showered and packed their swim gear. They then got their track outfits on and woke up Betsy. After Betsy had showered and changed into her track outfit, taking care not to ruin her bandage in the process, they left for the breakfast hall. As they were walking, Marie asked Betsy what happened in the Judo hall. Betsy told her that as she had been about to engage her opponent, she had felt something enter her shoulder. Fortunately, a doctor had been there and had been able to remove the bullet fairly quickly. It had not gone very deep and he was able to stitch her up. She was hoping to run in the relay if she could move her arm properly and without too much pain.

Marie could only marvel at her friend's courage. She hoped that she would be as brave under the same circumstances. When they got to the track after breakfast, they discovered that Mississippi's team would be in the first heat of the 4x200 meter relay qualifying. That meant Marie was in the first heat. Tabitha whose delegation was in the third heat soon joined them. Carol and Betsy pulled Tabitha aside and cautioned her not to say anything about Betsy's injury. She already knew that her friend was a mutant because she was with the professor at the judo venue. Then they checked in and found that the Massachusetts delegation was in the fifth and final heat of the day for qualifying. Once again the winners of each heat would advance to the finals with the remaining five places to be determined by their times in the qualifying heats. Carol and Betsy had a little while to wait for their heat so they moved into the infield to practice handoffs. Betsy had to learn to reach her left hand back as her sister came up to her. This was more difficult than it sounds because Betsy was normally right-handed. The first couple of handoffs were not smooth at all and Betsy dropped the baton. Not only was the handoff difficult but getting their footwork right was also a problem. However, by the time the fourth heat rolled around, they had figured out what to do. They were just about to report to the track for their heat when Ms. Cruickshank came up to them. "I am afraid that we may have to scratch out of the relay girls," she said to Carol and Betsy. "Remember how I had to leave last night because one of our girls got hurt?" She asked. "The girl was Cassandra. She fell and hit her head. I just left the hospital. She is going to be okay but she has a concussion and the doctor does not want her to race. As you know, Melody has a bruised knee and cannot run real well either."

Carol then spoke up. "Can Angela start the race for us? Then Melody would not have to use starting blocks. It may help her with her knee, Ms. Cruickshank."

At that moment, Betsy walked over to Melody. Melody was stretching and getting ready to try to run on her knee. "Hi, Melody, how's the knee feel?" Before Melody could answer her question, Betsy reached out and put her hand on Melody's knee. All of a sudden, she felt the strange force again flow from Betsy into Melody's knee. When Betsy removed her hand, Melody felt the knee loosen up. There was no pain at all. It was like her bruise had just disappeared. Melody looked up and Betsy had already moved over to Ms. Cruickshank. "Melody will be okay," she said. Just then, Melody came over to them. Ms. Cruickshank noticed that she was not limping. With a smile, she told the group how she wanted them to race. The four girls took their positions with Angela in the starting blocks. Melody and Betsy moved over to the far side of the track. Melody was running the second leg while Betsy was going to run the final stretch of the race. The starter called the contestants to their marks. Angela stepped into the starting blocks and put the baton in her hand. The gun sounded and Angela was off like a shot. She was not usually the starter and she really enjoyed the first leg. It was like a regular 200m race to her. As she moved around the turn, she could see Melody start to move a bit with her hand outstretched. Angela suddenly realized that just before the handoff, she was well in front of everyone in the heat. As she handed the baton to Melody, she continued on but stayed within the handoff zone until everyone else had made their handoffs as well. Melody took the handoff and turned on the jets. She had been expecting her knee to hurt but she did not feel anything. She increased the lead up to 50 meters when she handed the baton to Carol. Carol immediately shifted the baton to her left hand as she crossed out of the handoff zone. She too took off like a shot. As she approached the end of the curve, she glanced behind her. The lead had grown to 65 meters. She slowed down a bit so that she would not mess up the handoff to her sister. Carol quickly handed her sister the baton in her left hand. The exchange went perfectly. Betsy flew around the turn. She was really moving. When she crossed the finish line, the other teams were at most halfway through the final turn. It was a rout. Not only had they qualified for the finals, but also they had seized the coveted lane four from the Mississippi delegation. And they had done so in Junior Olympic record time. Carol and Angela crossed the infield to celebrate with Betsy and Melody. Each of their splits had been personal best for them. The Massachusetts delegation had served notice that they meant business in the relay. Melody was the happiest of them all. She had run her best ever and five minutes before the race she wasn't even sure she could run at all. Carol and Betsy exchanged knowing glances and smiles. A few minutes later, Marie and Tabitha came up to them. "We'll see y'all in the finals," said Marie.

A little while later, Marie and Carol left the stadium to change. Carol had to get ready for her 200-meter breaststroke finals in the swimming event. Marie was also going to the swimming Venue. She wanted to scout Carol Danvers in the 200-meter breaststroke event. Marie was hoping Carol might be a little tired when the 400-meter backstroke finals rolled around. It might be her only opportunity to catch Carol either in the pool or on the track. Immediately after that race was the 4x200 meter relay finals. She had already seen how fast Carol and Betsy's team was. She did not hold out much hope for victory in the relay. No, her best chance would have to be in the 400-meter backstroke. Unbeknownst to either one of the two friends was the fact that fate and history awaited them both.

After they had changed, Marie was sitting in the stands to watch her friend in the 200-meter breast stroke event. By this time, Betsy, Tabitha and Carol's parents had joined her. Carol had taken her position in lane four as the favorite in the race. Everyone held their collective breaths as the starter called the swimmers to their marks. Carol and the other swimmers stepped onto their starting blocks. They all leaned forward as the starter told them to get set. As the horn sounded, they all leaped into the water. Carol was the first one to surface. Her powerful strokes soon gave her a two-body length lead as she made the first touch at the far wall. Watching Carol was like watching a dolphin in the water. She seemed nearly as graceful as she bobbed and kicked effortlessly in the pool. By the time of the second touch, her lead had widened to four lengths. Still she continued her powerful thrusting strokes and kicks. Carol was not going to be caught in this race, it was obvious. As she came to the third touch she seemed to relax a bit. While her strokes on the final lap were still strong and powerful, her lead of six lengths allowed her to slow down a bit and still coast to an easy victory. She did not set a record but her easy triumph caused Marie to wince. Catching the strong blonde swimmer would not be easy, she decided.

Carol got out of the pool and dried herself off. She went over to her family and Marie. With a big smile, she greeted them. "Good job, Carol," Marie said. "It looks like you were pretty loose out there. I hope you did not overexert yourself in that race. I want a good race in the backstroke."

Carol looked at her roommate. "Don't worry, Marie. I will be ready for that one too," she replied. They all talked a little bit longer and then Carol had to go for her medal ceremony. As she stepped upon the gold medal platform, she had the biggest grin on her face. When the gold medal was placed around her neck, her whole face lit up with joy. She had worked hard to be the best and now she was. After the medal ceremony was completed, Carol rejoined her family and Marie for a brief lunch. After lunch was over, she had to get back to the track for the 4x100-meter relay finals. Her team had qualified earlier and she was going to run the anchor leg. Her coach had taken the chance of qualifying without Carol because she was afraid that Carol would be too tired. She would be shuttling back and forth between the pool and the track venues the rest of the day. She took her position in the final 100 meters of the track and awaited her teammates. Carol noticed that Tabitha was in the lane ahead of her. Carol was in lane three while Tabitha was in lane 4. "_I just wish I had an event that none of my friends were in," _she thought. "_I am getting tired of competing against my friends." _The race started and the New York delegation had taken the early lead. Soon it was time for the final handoff. Tabitha was the first to receive her baton and took off around the final curve. Carol received hers next and took off after Tabitha. She was really moving around the curve as well. When they came into the homestretch, Carol had closed the distance between her and Tabitha. In an all out sprint, the two friends quickly left the rest of the field behind. In the final ten meters, Carol managed to pull ahead just slightly. However, at the finish line, the officials had to go to a photo once again to determine the winner. They studied the picture for a long time before declaring Carol the winner by the slimmest of margins, one one-hundredth of a second. Once again, the Massachusetts delegation had prevailed. Carol hugged her longtime friend as they moved into the infield. Then she was joined by her jubilant teammates. When the final times were announced, both the Massachusetts delegation and the New York delegation had broken the old Junior Olympic records by .03 seconds. All five of the girls from Massachusetts squeezed on the gold medal platform to receive their Gold medals. Interestingly, enough, only 3 of them would be running in the 200 meter relay. That race was to be run two hours later. After the medal ceremony had concluded, Carol headed over to the swimming venue. She had about thirty minutes before her next race and she had to change into her swim gear. Once again, she thought about having to compete against a friend. This time it was going to be Marie who posed a threat to Carol. Mental fatigue was also beginning to set in. Carol wondered if she had overstretched herself by doing so many events. _"Oh well," _she thought_. "I only have two more events to do and I will be finished." _She also knew that she was likely facing the end of either her track and field or swimming career. Carol had decided that she could no longer continue the frantic training necessary to sustain so many events and would have to decide which events were most important to her. She and Betsy were both getting ready to enter their senior year in high school and needed to prepare for college choices. The fact that Betsy was now a mutant only complicated matters further. With a deep sigh, she changed into her swim gear for the final time in this Junior Olympics. Soon it was time to go to the pool. She was going to be in lane 4 and Marie was in lane 5. The two girls shook hands with all of the contestants and each other. Then they all got into the pool and moved to their lanes. The contestants all took their marks and positioned themselves against the wall. At the sound of the horn, they all launched themselves backward through the water. Carol and Marie flailed their arms rapidly over their heads as they looked up towards the sky. The two girls knifed through the water and were soon out in front of the rest of the field. At the first turn, Carol was ahead by one short stroke. As they made the turn, Marie suddenly exploded and took the lead. At the second wall, Carol was dead even with Marie. The two friends were clearly the class of the field and were going all out to win. They stayed neck and neck for the next five touches, neither one could establish any kind of lead. You could feel the tension in the air as they headed into the final lap. Both girls were approximately 10 lengths ahead of their nearest competitors. For everyone else, the race was for Bronze. It was clear that Carol and Marie were easily going to claim the Gold and Silver. The only question to be decided was who was going to get what. Carol stole a look to her left. At the same time, Marie was looking to her right. Both girls could feel the tiredness beginning to claim them. It seemed that both were slowing down in the ferocity of their strokes propelling them through the water. At the last possible instant, both girls hurled their bodies to the wall. Both lanes seemed to light up at the same time. Their times appeared to be identical. As had become so common in events they shared, the officials had to resort to a photo to try to determine the winner. The officials were looking at the photo for a long time but could not decide a winner. All of a sudden, a young man came forward. He was carrying a video camcorder. He had recorded the entire race because his daughter was in it and offered to show the tape to the officials in order to help them make a correct decision. The officials accepted his gracious offer. They watched the entire race, making sure there were no infractions by any of the contestants that could impact the outcome. There were no infractions at all. It had been a very clean race. They watched the race a second time and then a third. Finally, the officials saw what they were looking for. While it appeared that the lights had lit simultaneously, upon closer examination it appeared that lane five was touched first. Marie had touched the wall first. The margin of victory was literally the length of a closely cut fingernail. Both girls' times would have to be recorded to the nearest ten-thousandths of a second. Since none of the clocks were calibrated that precise, the officials decided to give approximate times differentiated by one ten-thousandth of a second. The race had been over about forty-five minutes before they finally made their decision. Marie was to be awarded the Gold in the closest swimming race in the history of the sport. She was ecstatic. Marie had finally done it. She had actually beaten Carol in a race. In a twist of irony, the man who had recorded the race saw his daughter take the bronze medal. Because the decision had taken so long, Marie and Carol finally had to tell the officials to postpone the medal ceremony as they both had to get over to the track venue for the finals of the 4x200-meter relay. Both girls had to run to get to the track in time. Fortunately, during the delay, both girls had taken the opportunity to change out of their swimsuits into their track clothes. They got to the track just in time. Both girls took their positions as the anchors for their respective teams. Marie was going to be in lane five while Carol was in lane 4. As the starter called the teams to the starting blocks, Carol and Marie were joined by their teammates who were to run the second portion of the relay. Carol was joined once again by Melody. Soon the race had been started. Angela once again got a fast start. She was about five meters in front of the Mississippi girl. Once she had handed off to Melody, she waited until all of the contestants had handed off, then she moved off the track, whispering to Carol to run like the wind. Then Melody moved across the infield to get to the finish line. As Carol moved onto the track she saw that Melody had increased the lead to about ten meters. Betsy had been moved into the third position because Carol had been so late getting to the track. Melody handed the baton to Betsy in her left hand and Betsy took off. The handoff took a bit of time and the girl from Mississippi had closed the gap when Betsy was able to get going. Soon, the third girl from Mississippi had caught up with Betsy and the two raced neck and neck around the track. Carol and Marie stood side by side in their lanes as the two girls closed in for their handoffs. Carol took the Baton from Betsy and took off at a full sprint. Marie was right beside her. As they came into the final straightaway, the two girls were leaving the rest of the field behind. Both girls closed in on the tape stretched before them. The officials were prepared this time. They had been alerted about the swimming race between these two girls and had someone videotaping the entire event. They had also seen two prior races themselves between these two girls end in dead heats. The person recording the race was a professional TV cameraman from the local TV station's news crew. Everyone watched with eager anticipation as the two girls closed in on the finish line. Both girls seemed to hit the tape at the exact same instant and then something bizarre happened. They had both crossed the finish line and the tape seemed to catch in both of their spikes, tripping both of them. They seemed to fall in slow motion. As they fell, each one reached out to break their fall. Contact was made between the two girls as they fell. Suddenly there seemed to be a series of bright flashes of light and then both girls were still, laying facedown on the track.

****

That is it for this chapter, folks. It appears that the track officials may have a dilemma on their hands. Who won the race and are both contestants going to be ok? What do you think? Let me know by using the little button marked review that is down in the lower left-hand corner. Fan fiction has provided this means to let authors know what you think, so please use it. The good folks at Fan Fiction and I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I am co-writing a story with Heartsyhawk, entitled The End Of The World. Please read that one as well and let us both know what you think, good or bad. Before you go please review this story.


	11. To The Hospital We Go

****

Disclaimer: Does any one out there really believe that someone who is poorer than the poorest church mouse really owns Marvel or DC or any of their characters? If you do, I am praying for you. Unfortunately, I do not own any of these characters or their organizations.

__

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TO THE HOSPITAL WE GO

Betsy was the first to arrive by the two unconscious girls. She was followed by her teammates, her parents and Tabitha. Another adult also appeared. This woman introduced herself as Irene Adler. She was Marie's guardian. Soon Ms. Cruickshank arrived to check up on Carol. Neither girl had so much as moved a muscle. The first girl moved was Carol. As her friends carried her over to the infield area, she seemed to drop into a deeper state of unconsciousness. Then Betsy, Ms. Cruickshank, and Tabitha moved over towards the now stirring Marie. Irene, having donned a pair of gloves, would not allow anybody else to touch her. She knew that Marie's mutant abilities had just manifested themselves in a very public way. No one else seemed to realize what had happened. After a few moments, Marie opened her eyes. Everyone gasped in shock. Before her eyes had been a deep emerald green. Now they were a deep shade of blue, the same color as Carol's eyes had been. Suddenly, Marie's whole body began to shake. A terrifying scream erupted from her mouth and then she collapsed in a heap. Marie was helped up by Irene and she, too, was moved over to the infield.

Betsy had retreated back to her sister's side. She saw the ambulance being moved from the far side of the track across the infield. Then the paramedics came up to Carol. Her position had remained unchanged. She was still unconscious. Betsy felt tears forming in her eyes when she saw the paramedics donning their white gloves. As they took Carol's pulse, one of them shook his head. The other one pulled out a white collar and put it around Carol's neck. Because she was unconscious, and they had no idea what injuries she had sustained, they were going to use utmost care in moving her. After immobilizing her neck, the two paramedics began sliding a stiff backboard under her. Once that was done, they gently lifted the board and Carol on to a waiting stretcher and carried her to the ambulance. After putting Carol inside, they turned their attention to Marie. As they approached the younger girl, Irene tried to wave them off. One of the paramedics told Irene that they had to check on her charge and to get out of the way or she would be arrested. They quickly took her pulse and vital signs. By the time they had finished, however, Marie was fully awake and able to sit up on her own. Her eyes were now back to her own lovely green. The paramedics recommended that she be taken along with Carol to Yale-New Haven Hospital for evaluation. Irene knew that further argument would be futile and she agreed. The paramedics then helped Marie to walk over to the ambulance and get on the other stretcher. Irene and Betsy followed Marie into the ambulance. Betsy sat beside her sister and reached out for her hand. Irene was whispering words of comfort to a very confused Marie and did not notice what Betsy had done. Suddenly, Betsy could feel that same mysterious force flow through her hand, this time into her sister. A few seconds later, Carol's eyes flickered open and then closed. She was still unconscious. Marie, on the other hand appeared to be fully recovered from the incident. Her eyes had returned to normal. She was chatting with Irene in a soft voice.

'What happened, Marie?" asked Irene. "I came into the stadium and saw you laying face down on the track."

Marie looked at her guardian. "Ah really don know, Irene. We waz runnin and stretched out for the tape. It somehow got tangled around mah feet and we tripped. Th' next thang ah knew, weh wer on the track face dowwwn." Looking at Carol, Marie was suddenly afraid for her friend. "Da ya thank sheh'll beh okeh?" she asked.

"It's too soon to tell," Irene answered. "Now hush up a bit. I have to call your mother when we get to the hospital."

Betsy looked at her unconscious sister. Once again she took Carol's hand in hers. Once again, she felt the healing power flow from her into Carol. This time, Carol's eyes opened and stayed open. Betsy was startled to see Marie's green eyes staring back at her. Carol blinked her eyes a couple of times as if she was trying to comprehend something. After a few more minutes, her eyes returned to normal. Betsy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Carol. Carol was strapped down to the stretcher and could not easily move. She looked at Betsy as if pleading to be released from her confinement. After a short time, she was able to find her voice. "What happened, Betsy and Why am I strapped down?" she asked, in a confused whisper. Before her sister could answer, one of the paramedics jumped in the front seat of the ambulance and began to drive them towards Yale-New Haven Hospital. The other paramedic had remained in the back of the ambulance with Carol, Marie, Betsy and Irene. It was quite crowded but she had to monitor the instruments that she had hooked up to Carol and Marie. Both of the patients vitals were beginning to show as normal. Only when she noticed this encouraging signs did the paramedic relax and smile.

"Well, I am glad to see you two have both regained consciousness," she said. Looking at Carol, she continued. "Especially you, miss. You gave us quite a scare. For a while there, we did not think you would make it back to us."

Carol looked aghast at the paramedic. "Are you saying that I was nearly killed?"

"No," the paramedic said. "Your vital signs were all over the place. It appeared that you were going into a coma. And you were unconscious. I was worried that if you slipped into a coma, you might not come out of it for quite some time." The paramedic smiled. "It appears that everything will be all right now."

Betsy now took the time to answer her sister's question. "You and Marie were together at the finish line. You both hit the tape and the loose ribbon got tangled in your track spikes. both of you tripped and fell, making contact with each other somehow. There were several flashes of light, and then you were both still, face down in your respective lanes. Our teammates helped move you over to the infield. Once again, you and Marie seem to like close finishes. The track officials hadn't determined a winner when you two were put in the ambulance."

Betsy had just finished her story when the Paramedic spoke up again. "The doctors are going to want to run some tests to try to find out what happened to both of you, but you both will probably be out by tomorrow," she said. "In order to help things along, I am going to start IV's on both of you. She rubbed an alcohol swab on Marie's arm. "This won't hurt. You will feel a pinch at first." Then she tried to stick the needle into Marie's arm. It broke when it came into contact with her skin. "What the ...!" She exclaimed. "You have some tough skin there, girl," she said as she reached for another needle. "Don't move." Again, she applied an alcohol swab on Marie's forearm. Once again, the needle broke when she tried to put it into Marie's arm. Feeling frustrated, she moved over to Carol. "Let's see if we can get you going first, since I can't seem to get a needle into her arm. She opened a third alcohol packet and began to swab Carol's arm. She picked up a new needle and tried to insert it into Carol. This time, the needle shattered. "Hmmm, must be a defective batch of IV needles we have. I guess we'll have to wait until we get to the hospital to start your IV's." The group all fell silent as the ambulance made its way through traffic the ten miles to the hospital. Just as the ambulance pulled into the driveway for the emergency room, the monitor for Marie's brain activity started screaming. All of a sudden, Marie's eyes turned into a steel blue color and she began thrashing about. Irene looked at her ward. She and the paramedic pushed Marie down on the gurney. The paramedic then began placing restraints around Marie. A few seconds later, Irene and the paramedic had gotten Marie tied down and wrestled into a straight jacket. As they tied the straps and arms behind Marie's back, she began to calm down and her eyes returned to their emerald green color.

Carol watched as her friend was being forcibly restrained. Neither of the two girls realized what was going on. Nor did they realize that either or both of them could have easily ripped their restraints apart. Irene Adler looked at Marie. She wondered what she should do. A few seconds later, the ambulance stopped. The driver got out and opened the rear doors to the vehicle. Marie's eyes flashed angrily at him. He quickly moved to pull her gurney out first. As it approached the end of the securing rails, he flipped a switch which caused the legs to drop. The wheels hit the ground and he began wheeling a very angry looking Marie Darkholme into the emergency room. Once he had deposited her in the assigned room, he returned and helped his colleague get Carol out of the ambulance. The two paramedics ushered Carol into the same room where Marie had been placed. They were followed by Carol's sister Betsy. A few minutes later, a yellow taxicab pulled up. Carol's parents and Ms. Cruickshank were the first out. The rear door opened and out jumped Carol and Betsy's teammates, Angela and Melody. They all rushed into Carol's room. Once Ms Cruickshank saw that Carol was alert and calm, she stepped out of the room. "I am going to check on Cassandra and will be back in a little while," she said as she departed the room.

Betsy watched as several doctors came into the room. First, they removed the restraints keeping Carol to the gurney. Then they began attaching several different electronic devices to her body. One doctor was carefully monitoring the machines. He seemed to have a puzzled look on his face. Carol's brainwave patterns were nothing like he had ever seen. He was also concerned that her heart rate was extremely high. "Really odd," he muttered to himself. Turning towards Marie, he hooked her up to a second set of monitors. To his astonishment, the brainwave patterns and heart rate mirrored the readings from Carol. While the girls' heart rates were extremely high, he could not detect any abnormality such as tacchardia or arrhythmia. He told the nurse in the room to give each of the girls a sedating shot. The nurse removed a vial and two syringes from a cabinet. She cleaned Carol's arm with an alcohol wipe and filled the first syringe with the sedative. Then she went to give the shot to Carol. As the needle struck Carol's skin, it bent and broke off from the end of the syringe. The nurse quickly caught the syringe and raised it so that the medicine would not leak out. She put another needle on the syringe and tried once again to give Carol the shot. Once again, the needle bent and broke off. She put a third needle on the syringe and turning to Marie, tried once again to administer the shot. Once again, the needle broke. the doctor looked on as the nurse tried to administer the sedatives. He noticed the problem and asked the nurse to give them some pills instead. He looked at Carol's parents. "Do you know why her skin is so hard?" He asked. Both Marie and Joe Danvers shook their heads. The doctor stroked his chin, deep in thought. "I have never seen this phenomenon before. I will have to do some research on this subject," he said finally. "In the meantime, we will have to keep both girls here overnight for observation."

At that moment, Irene Adler walked into the room. She looked at Marie who was now asleep on the gurney. "I have called Marie's mother. She will be here in the morning. She mentioned that she would like her daughter to see a specialist in New York, she knows."

"Just who is Marie's mother," he asked.

Irene smiled. "Marie's Mother is Raven Darkholme. She will be arriving with a specialist from New York, Eric Lensherr, The doctor turned pale as a ghost. He now knew he was in big trouble. He had indeed heard of Raven Darkholme. She was perhaps the most notorious investigative reporter alive. She had brought down many organizations and he wasn't sure he even wanted to cross her path. People she did not like usually ended up on the front page of the Daily Bugle. She especially loved to tear down research hospitals and doctors. He also recognized the name of the specialist. Eric Lensherr was an expert in the field of genetic mutations. He also had a bad reputation as an obsessed crackpot among doctors. _"And to think, I only have three more months to go before retirement. Why now?" _he thought. _"Why me?"_

After a few moments of very uncomfortable silence, the doctor again spoke. "Isn't Eric Lensherr a specialist in genetic mutations?" He asked, hesitantly.

"Yes," Irene responded. "He is. Ms Darkeholme wants to find out whether this accident today was truly an accident or whether her daughter has become a mutant."

The doctor nodded. He had heard of mutants before but he was unaccustomed to dealing with them in his hospital. A few moments later, the phone rang. The nurse picked up the receiver. After a few moments of conversation, the nurse turned to the doctor and said "There is a Doctor Worthington in the main lobby, doctor and he would like a word with you." The doctor shrugged. He also recognized the name of Dr. Worthington. According to rumors, Dr Worthington was a doctor who specialized in the treatment of mutants. It seemed that at least one of patients was definitely a mutant. Although, in his opinion, it was likely that both of them were, given the circumstances, mutants. "I'll be right back," he said to the group. Then he left the room and made his way to the lobby. There he was met by two persons. One, a tall man in a white lab coat, was introduced to him as Dr. Warren Worthington. The other was a bald man in a wheelchair, introduced as Professor Charles Xavier.

"Good evening, Doctor," the man in the wheelchair said. "We understand that you have two new patients in the emergency room who we may be able to help you with. Marie Darkeholme and Carol Danvers."

The doctor cringed. _"Why were so many people interested in these two kids?" _he thought. "Dr. Worthington, Professor Xavier," he said as he firmly shook their hands. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

Professor Xavier was the first to speak. "It has come to our attention that Marie Darkeholme is a mutant. We believe that Ms Danvers may be also. We came to help you administer treatment to them."

The doctor narrowed his eyes and stared at the two men. "First, we are just making them comfortable. It does not appear that we have the facilities to treat either one of them. Nor can we be sure what happened or what malady they have. Their brain patterns are identical and are unlike any ever seen on earth. It is a mystery. Ms. Darkeholme's guardian has informed me that her mother will be here tomorrow with a specialist in genetic mutations, a Dr. Lensherr. So until they get here, our hands are pretty much tied."

Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington stared at the doctor in front of them. "Do you mean Eric Lensherr?" Asked Professor Xavier, incredulously.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Do you know him?"

Professor Xavier nodded his head. Not wanting to expose his old friend, He merely said "Yes, I know him. Ms Darkeholme will be in capable hands. How about Ms. Danvers? Are her parents here as well?"

Once again the doctor nodded. "Her parents are in room 23 with her and Ms. Darkeholme and her guardian, Irene Adler."

"Can we see them, then?" Asked Professor Xavier.

****

That's it for this chapter. We have Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington already there at the hospital with Raven Darkeholme and Eric Lensherr due to arrive shortly. What is going to happen when these enemies face each other? Find out next time. Meanwhile, please take the time to review this chapter.


	12. Out of the Hospital

**_THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS_**

_**CHAPTER 12**_

_**Out of the Hospital**_

Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington followed the good doctor into the emergency room. As they entered the room where Carol and Marie were currently sleeping, Professor Xavier smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Danvers. "It is good to see you both again but I wish we would quit meeting under such dire circumstances. First, Betsy gets shot and you discover she is a mutant and now Carol is injured and is likely showing as a mutant as well. Just curious, are either of you mutants?" he asked.

Joe and Marie shook their heads. "Until yesterday, we had no idea what a mutant was," Joe replied. "As for both of our kids being mutants, we had no idea. We adopted them both together but we do now they weren't related prior to our adopting them. Betsy had already been at the orphanage for quite some time when we found Carol and took her there. She was wandering the streets of Boston all alone. After a fruitless search of missing person reports, we took her to an Orphanage in Boston and were subsequently able to adopt her."

Dr. Worthington was busily examining the two girls' medical charts and watching the instruments hooked up to both. What was fascinating was the fact that their brain waves were identical. It was like they were the same person. As he listened to the Danvers' and the Professor's conversation, he noted that Carol and Marie were from dissimilar backgrounds. He was curious about what happened earlier in the day. He looked over at Betsy. "Can you tell us what happened to your sister, Betsy?" He asked.

Betsy Danvers looked up when the Doctor addressed her. She recognized Dr. Worthington as the person who had treated her wounds the day before. As she related the day's events to him, Dr. Worthington listened attentively. He was especially attentive when she mentioned the events that occurred when both Carol and Marie woke up. It was curious that periodically Marie's eye color would change to deep blue from her emerald green. It seemed that those times would indicate a personality change for the young girl. It was like she was actually Carol at those times. He was also curious about the fact that no IV's had been started on either girl. The emergency room physician then explained what had happened when they tried to start IV's on the two patients. Dr. Worthington nodded his head. He had heard of this phenomenon occurring only once before. Dr. Worthington had served his residency in Smallville, Kansas several years earlier and was present when that city's resident superhero, Super Boy, had tried to give blood during a crisis. The needles had shattered and would not pierce his invulnerable skin. He silently wondered if either of the two patients were somehow related to the boy of steel. "_That would explain a lot,"_ he thought. He kept silent on this theory because as far as he knew there was no one else like Super Boy on Earth.

Turning to the Danvers', he said, "I think that we need to consider moving Carol to Professor Xavier's Institute for Gifted Students. The emergency room physician has said that all they can do here is keep your daughter comfortable. They can not adequately treat or diagnose her condition properly here. While I would need to run some additional tests, It is looking likely that Carol is a mutant like Betsy. Apparently she has different abilities than her sister which is not uncommon."

Marie Danvers looked questioningly at Dr. Worthington as if she was about to ask something. Joe broke the silence. "I believe that sounds like a good idea, given that you folks are used to dealing with other mutants. You will be able to help both of my two daughters , won't you?"

Dr. Worthington looked at the man and noticed the pleading in his voice. "We will do everything within our power to help them both. Betsy is going to be fine. Carol may be another matter. We are dealing with an unknown here. While I am certain that the DNA tests will show her to be carrying an X Gene of some sort, There are still other factors to consider."

"How will you run any tests on Carol when this hospital cannot even give her a needle to insert an IV or sedate her?" Marie questioned.

Dr. Worthington was about to answer her question when Professor Xavier spoke up. "Let's just say that some of our technology is not available to the general medical profession."

At that moment, Lynne Cruickshank entered the room. "How is Carol doing?" She asked.

Betsy spoke up. "We don't know right now, Ms. Cruickshank. Carol is sleeping."

The coach nodded. "I have heard from the track officials. They have decided to give both the Massachusetts team and the Mississippi team Gold medals. Carol and Marie had finished in a tie once again. The medal ceremony will be held at noon tomorrow. It is being delayed because Carol and Marie are here in the hospital. Hopefully, they will both be able to attend."

The Danvers family nodded. "If Carol is released, we will be there," Joe said.

Irene Adler also spoke up. "Marie will be there also if she is able," she said.

The emergency room physician entered the room at that moment. He had been outside and had heard the conversation. "I will say that both girls should be able to be released in the morning. At this moment, we will be keeping them here for observation tonight, but as far as I can tell they will probably be released to their parents' custody in the morning. There does not seem to be much more that we can do for them here. I do suggest each of you go back to your rooms and get some rest. Carol and Marie should be fine here for the evening."

As the group filed out of the room, Betsy once again grabbed her sister's hand. As she felt the healing force flow once again into Carol, she leaned over and whispered to her, "I'll see you in the morning, sis. Be strong." She felt Carol squeeze her hand before she released it.

The next morning, the Danvers family, Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington met for breakfast at a diner in New Haven. Then they made their way to the hospital. Carol was waiting for them. She and Marie had been had been given a room on the first floor of the hospital. Marie's Mother had already arrived with Dr. Lensherr. He was examining Marie when Professor Xavier arrived with Carol's family. When Professor Xavier wheeled himself into the room, he smiled. "Hello, Raven. Hello Magnus. It's been a long time."

"Hello, Charles." they both answered. "Yes, it has been a long time," Raven Darkeholme replied. Dr. Lensherr went back to his examination of Marie.

After a few moments, Professor Xavier looked at Carol. "Are you ready to get out of the hospital, Carol?" he asked.

Carol jumped up from her bed. She was already dressed. "Yes, I am," she replied.

At that moment, the emergency room physician from the previous evening entered the room. "Your daughters were perfect angels last night. They slept the entire night and we had no incidents of problems. I just need some papers signed and they are both free to go home. Joe and Marie and Raven Darkeholme looked at the doctor. Joe read the discharge papers and signed them. Raven also signed the papers for Marie. Once they had been officially discharged, Marie Darkeholme and Carol Danvers left the room. Carol noticed that Marie was now wearing black gloves and her tracksuit.

As Carol left the room, Betsy said: Let's go. We all have a medal ceremony to attend. I want my gold medal."

Professor Xavier smiled. "Ah, the impulsiveness of youth. I hope that we will see you there, Raven. You too, Magnus. Marie earned her gold medal. too."

"What do you mean, Charles?" Raven asked.

Professor Xavier quickly told them about the Junior Olympics and how Marie and Carol had been involved in a relay race and finished in a dead heat. When Charles had finished, Raven nodded in agreement.

"We would not want to deny Marie her gold medal. My examination can wait until later at this point any way," Dr. Lensherr said.

A few minutes later, the entire group had left the hospital in two cars. Professor Xavier, Dr. Worthington, and the entire Danvers family were in the X-van. Irene Adler, Raven and Marie Darkeholme and Dr. Eric Lensherr were in Raven's black Cadillac sedan. About a half an hour later they were at the track stadium.

The athletes all gathered together. Cassandra had also been released from the hospital. The track officials began arranging two gold medal platforms along with a silver and a bronze medal platform. Soon everything was ready. Carol led the Massachusetts team to their platform. Marie led the Mississippi team to their platform. As the officials came forward to present their medals, Carol extended her hand to Marie. "Great race, Marie. I hope that we will meet again someday." Just as Marie took Carol's hand in her now black gloved hand and shook it, a photographer snapped their picture. Finally, the medal ceremony was completed. Ms. Cruickshank tearfully hugged Carol and Betsy Danvers. She knew that her two athletes would have to leave. They were going to New York that afternoon. Fortunately, the Junior Olympics were also about to end that day. Carol and Betsy were also sad. They had tried to persuade their parents to allow them to stay for the closing ceremonies but Joe and Marie wanted to get the testing procedures started on Carol and would not relent. A short time later, three vehicles left the bustling Yale Campus. Marie Darkeholme was in her mother's black Cadillac. Carol, Betsy and her parents were in their family car. They were following A big black van, containing Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington as well as Professor Xavier's students, the X-Men team.

About three hours later, Profess or Xavier and the Danvers vehicle arrived at a huge mansion in Bayville, New York. Carol's and Betsy's eyes grew very wide as they saw the Xavier mansion for the first time. The other students had filed out of the van and went inside the massive building. After they had all gone inside, Professor Xavier met and escorted the Danvers family inside and to his office.


	13. Tragedy Strikes

**At last, another chapter is here. I apologize for taking so long, dear readers. This has been a difficult chapter for me to write.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men characters, Marvel Comics or any of its parent or subsidiary companies. Thank you.**

_**THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS**_

_**CHAPTER 13**_

_**TRAGEDY STRIKES**_

It has been three years since Carol came to the institute. In that three years, Carol had been poked and prodded every which way possible. Professor Xavier and Dr. Worthington had run every conceivable test available. They had managed to obtain a sample of her DNA only when she provided some saliva. Like the doctors in New Haven, they had been unable to pierce her invulnerable skin to draw blood. They had run many advanced tests on her DNA but had never found an X gene. Her brain wave patterns were unlike any they had ever encountered before. They had rightfully concluded that Carol was not a mutant but they were at a loss to explain her superpowers. She was clearly a meta human but they were unable to explain her abilities. Consequently, because she was not a mutant like the rest of the X-Men, she was often excluded from missions. She found herself without many friends among the X-Men. Her sister, Betsy, had decided that she did not want to be a member of the X-Men and had returned home that first summer. Carol had tried to fit in with her colleagues but found herself to be quite lonely. Many times she had been tempted to leave the institute but had not done so. Now she sat miserably in her room on what should have been the happiest of days for her. That evening, she was supposed to graduate from high school and the institute. She had already been looking for a job, having decided that college was not for her. Her sister, Betsy, had chosen to go to Harvard to study a nursing curriculum and while Carol could have gone to any college she wanted, she did not want any more of school. Her experience at the institute had soured her on the aspects of continuing her education. She had also been compelled by Professor Xavier to give up her swimming career. He had explained to her that with her abilities, it was unfair for her to compete as a swimmer or in track. With a sigh, she left her room and decided to walk around the institute grounds. She could not wait until her parents and sister arrived. Her bags were all packed and ready for her return trip to Boston for the summer. Then she would hopefully be able to find a job. As she walked around the grounds she could not shake the feeling of dread she had been feeling all day. After about an hour, she started to walk back towards the Xavier mansion. Suddenly, her thoughts and lonely walk were interrupted. There was a sudden gust of wind as something went by her. Carol focused her super vision on the streak that blew by her. She saw a girl dressed in a red form fitting costume. Using her super speed, Carol soon caught the girl. "Who are you and why are you here at the Xavier Institute?" Carol asked the newcomer.

The girl stopped. "My name is Carmen Rodriguez. My friends call me Qpid. I was just out jogging and decided to take a path through the woods. I did not realize that I was trespassing."

Carol had to laugh. "Well, Carmen, if this is what you call jogging, I would hate to see what you would call sprinting. I had to use my super vision abilities to even see you. You must have the gift of super speed. Are you perhaps related to Pietro Maximoff? My name is Carol, by the way. Carol Danvers," she said extending her hand.

Carmen laughed along with Carol as she shook Carol's hand. "Nice to meet you, Carol. You, too, must have the gift of super speed if you were able to catch up with me. And no, I am not related to Pietro Maximoff. I would like to meet him though. I have seen him and he is really cute."

The two girls continued talking for a while as they walked. All of a sudden they came into the shadow of the Xavier Mansion. A few seconds later they were met by Jean Gray, who also happened to be out walking.

"Carol, where have you been? The professor has been looking for you," Jean told her. "He seemed upset."

Carol looked at her new friend. "I'll be back in a bit," she told Carmen. Making her way to Professor Xavier's office, she was surprised to see Wolverine and a senior student, Ororo Munroe, in his office when she entered. "You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked politely.

Professor Xavier looked at his young student. "Yes, Carol. Have a seat. I am afraid that I have some bad news for you."

Carol sat down in the vacant chair across from the Professor. She was suddenly very nervous about what he was going to tell her. She thought that her final exam grades were not the best and she was afraid that he was going to tell her she could not graduate.

Professor Xavier smiled when he caught her thoughts. "No Carol, you will graduate this evening, if you still want to. I am afraid that the news is much more tragic than that. I just received a phone call from the Bayville police. There has been a car accident involving your parents and sister. A tractor trailer crossed the center line and hit their car head on. Their car exploded. Unfortunately, their bodies appear to have been incinerated. No one survived." As he was telling Carol the tragic news, Wolverine and Ororo moved closer to the young girl.

Ororo hugged her. Carol was now visibly sobbing in her arms. She remained there for a few moments before she fell silent. Suddenly she realized that she was alone with the professor. Wolverine and Ororo had moved away from her and left the room. With a start, she realized that Professor Xavier was talking to her again.

"Carol, the whole institute will know what has happened soon enough. I know that you have not had many friends here. What can I do to help you during this time of turmoil?"

Carol was speechless. She could not believe her family was gone. "_It was not fair,"_ she cried in her mind. "_How could this happen?" _she asked herself.

Professor Xavier allowed the girl her space. He knew she was really hurting.

After a few moments, Carol managed to get a grip on her emotions. Finally, she managed to stop crying and stood up.

"Carol, what do you want to do?" The Professor asked. "Do you still want to graduate with your classmates tonight? You have earned it and I will be announcing that your achievements include being the top student in your class. Yes, you are the Valedictorian and Ororo Munroe is the Salutatorian. I have checked the figures and the difference in your grades is very minute, .000001 of a point. Because of today's tragedy, I will understand if you choose not to make the customary valedictory speech. I meant to tell both of you a few days ago, but we have had several missions and new mutants showing up and I just did not get around to it."

Carol thought for a few moments and finally spoke. "Yes, Professor, I do want to graduate tonight. As for the valedictory speech, I will think of something to say. May I go now?"

The professor nodded.

**Well that is it for this chapter. Hopefully with summer here, I can get more updates going. Before you go, please review.**


	14. Graduation Day

_**Hi folks. I know it has been like forever since I updated this story. I must confess this chapter was extremely difficult to write for me. I have been busy with work and was stymied for quite some time where I wanted this story to go. My muse has returned and my interest in this story piqued again. I will try to be better. It is fun to write again.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics, the X-Men, or Carol Danvers. They all belong to Marvel. Carmen Rodriguez is the original creation of Heartsyhawk. She has graciously loaned her to me for this story.**

**And Now:**

_**THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS**_

_**CHAPTER 14**_

_**Graduation Day**_

Carol slowly made her way back to the area where she had left Carmen. By the time she reached the speedster and Jean Gray, she was crying her eyes out. Her tears streaked down her face destroying what had been left of her makeup from before.

Jean was the first to see her. The young psychic came up to the older girl and asked her, "Carol, what has happened?"

Carol sobbed. "My family is...GONE!" She screamed in agony.

Neither Carmen nor Jean knew what to do. They did not realize what Carol meant. After a few moments of continuous sobbing, Carol started to calm down. As she started to get a hold on her emotions, Jean Grey suddenly got a clear mental picture of what was happening in Carol's mind. The young mutant telepath gasped out loud when she realized what had happened to Carol's family. "Oh, no! That is so terrible."

Carol was still crying when her new friend, Carmen came up to her and gave her a hug. "You will be all right, Carol." Jean Grey had quietly explained to Carmen what had happened to Carol's family. The young speedster kept holding her new friend. Slowly, Carol was able to get control of her emotions. When she had done so, Jean took that as her cue to leave Carol and Carmen alone. They continued walking and talking together until finally, the two girls finally entered the mansion and made their way to Carol's room. Carol looked over at her packed bags. With a sigh she sat down at her desk. It seemed that she would not be leaving the institute for a while. Quickly, she began to write a speech for the evening's graduation. She also knew that even though it was probably too late to get into college for the fall semester, she would have to talk to Professor Xavier after the ceremony.

Carol's speech took about fifteen minutes to write. She had decided to make the theme of her speech "Appreciate what you have and make the most of your opportunities." While she was writing, Carmen sat on her bed watching her. She marveled at the girl's resolve to work on this speech after receiving the devastating news earlier in the day. After a little while, Carol decided to take a break from her speech. Suddenly she began sobbing, once again. Carmen came over to her and wrapped her arms around the crying young woman. "It's going to be okay, Carol. You can get through this."

After a few moments, Carol was able to pull herself together and finish her speech. When she was done, Carol asked her new friend if she would like to hear the speech. After Carmen had agreed to hear it, she took a deep breath and began:

"**Three years ago, I came to this institute because I believed, as did many others, that I am a mutant. However, despite many tests, no mutant x-gene has been found. Still, I have been blessed with many incredible abilities. My abilities include the ability to fly, super speed, invulnerability to physical harm, and super vision. Why I have these abilities remains a mystery to me. I can only imagine that the secret of my abilities will be revealed to me in the future. While I have been here, I have been provided with a wonderful opportunity to work with and learn alongside several other gifted individuals. Although each of you has tried to work with me, I often failed to appreciate the friendship you offered. That was my mistake. Today, I learned a valuable lesson. Take advantage of your opportunities and appreciate what you have. Until today, I did not realize that friends are very important, almost as important as family. My family was ripped from me this afternoon. There was a terrible tragedy. My family was on the way here for this commencement ceremony. According to Professor Xavier, their car exploded and their bodies were incinerated. Prior to hearing this news, I had met a young woman while I was walking along the grounds. This girl has spent the better part of this afternoon with me, helping me to cope with my loss. That is a friend to me. After hearing the news, Ororo Monroe and Mr. Logan were a big comfort to me. I want you both to know how I appreciate what you did for me. I also realize that, though I have been a good student, I have neglected the opportunities to apply for college. If it is not too late, I will try to get into a college soon. I also found out today that I had been selected to be Valedictorian. Another mistake on my part as I just did not pay attention to such things as class rank, I have been too busy feeling sorry for myself and not doing what is important. **

**As you, my fellow graduates, go out into the world, remember this: Appreciate your friends and family for they can be gone in an instant. Always take the time to make new friends because "A ring is round, and has no end, that's how long you will need to have friends", be helpful to those in distress, and make the most of your opportunities because you never know where they will lead. Congratulations, my fellow graduates."**

When Carol had finished, she looked at Carmen. The young woman was rendered speechless. After a few moments, Carmen got her voice back. "Wow. I can't believe that you were able to write that after the events of the day. That is incredible. And thank you for calling me your friend. I, too, do not have many people that I can call a friend.

Suddenly, Carol 'heard' Professor Xavier's voice in her head, requesting her presence. "Carmen, the professor wants to see me. Will you come with me? I am sure he would like to meet you as well."

"Okay. We will go together, friend," Carmen replied.

When they had reached the professor's office, Carol knocked on the door.

"Come in, Carol," the professor replied.

Carol and Carmen entered the office. "Professor, you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Carol. I wanted to see how you were coming along with your speech. The ceremony is in less than an hour and I was wondering if you needed any help."

"It is done, Professor," Carol replied as she handed the written copy of her speech to him. "Would you like to read it?"

Professor Xavier quickly read the speech. Like Carmen, before, he was impressed. "That is a wonderful speech, Carol. I am impressed that you were able to say those things after the events of the day. I like how you have taken responsibility for your own mistakes and have the courage to admit them. It takes a strong person to do what you have done today."

Carol looked at her friend. "Professor Xavier, I would like you to meet my new friend, Carmen Rodriguez. She is the one who has been with me all day."

Professor Xavier wheeled around to meet the new girl. "I am pleased to meet you, Carmen," he said as he extended his hand. "By chance are you a mutant, Carmen?"

"Charmed to meet you, Professor Xavier. I have heard a lot about you and your school here. Yes, I am a mutant. I have the power of Super Speed and am also an empath. I can feel people's emotions as they experience them," Carmen replied.

"I see," said the professor, kindly. "I am glad that you and Carol are friends. She needs more friends."

"We all do, professor," Carmen replied softly. "I am glad I was able to help her today."

"Well done, ladies. Now you must excuse me as I have a graduation ceremony to finish setting up."

The two girls then left the professor and made their way into the kitchen. There they found some of the younger mutants and Ororo Monroe getting ready to have dinner.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Ororo?" Carol asked, excitedly.

Ororo looked at Carol. "No, we have it under control. Oh and congratulations on being named Valedictorian. That means you go first in giving your speech, you know."

"Thank you, Ororo. I had no idea until Professor Xavier told me this afternoon. As for going first, that will not bother me as I have already done it. I will say it will be short and sweet. Congratulations to you as well. I believe we were only separated by 0.000001 of a point. I do not have any idea where that difference came from. I never paid attention to those details before now. I never thought I would finish ahead of you. I didn't even know I was in the running."

The young weather witch suddenly blushed. She had not known the difference had been so close either. The truth of the matter was that she had missed two questions on the last exam but had gotten the bonus question right, while Carol had only missed one question on the final exam but had not had time to attempt the bonus question when time had been called. The result was two scores practically identical except for 1 millionth of a point, the difference between two high school careers. Ororo looked at Carol. "Will you be staying at the institute, Carol? After graduation, I mean?"

Carol was about to answer her when they both "heard" Professor Xavier calling them. As they made their way to the Professor's office, Carmen excused herself and made her way outside where she noticed the chairs were set up for the commencement ceremony. She noticed many people had already taken their seats, so she sat down in the back row. She sat near the end so that her new friend would notice her as the graduates marched by.

Carol and Ororo both entered the Professor Xavier's office together. Professor Xavier looked at his two pupils. "It is time ladies. I need you two to lead the graduate procession. Carol, you will report to the right wing of the courtyard, while Ororo you will go to the left side. When the music starts, both of you will lead your fellow classmates into the courtyard and to your waiting seats. And congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you, sir." They both said at once as they turned to leave. On the way to the right wing of the courtyard, Carol remembered to put on her mortarboard. She had nearly forgotten. "How embarrassing that would be," she thought.

Professor Xavier watched as the graduating class took up their positions, One could feel the excitement flowing through the group of youngsters as they prepared to take the first step into their futures. A sense of sadness could also be felt in the air on the part of the faculty and staff as well.

The students were ready and the guests took their seats. Suddenly, the strains of Pomp and Circumstance filled the air. Slowly, the two groups began marching towards the center aisle. As they turned towards the waiting stage area, Carol noticed her new friend, Carmen sitting in the last row. She was grinning and waving excitedly at Carol. Carol blushed, grateful her friend was there for her.

Once the graduates were seated, the ceremony began. Professor Xavier wheeled himself to the podium. "On behalf of the faculty and Staff, here at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, I bid all of you, students, friends and family and, of course, the graduating class a fond welcome." The professor then gave a short speech outlining the accomplishments of the graduates. Finally, the time came for the speeches of the valedictorian and salutatorian. Professor Xavier took a deep breath and began. "Today, we are going to honor the accomplishments of all the graduates. Two young women have excelled beyond those of their classmates. In fact, they only found out today how close their scholastic careers have been. Our Valedictorian is Carol Danvers and our Salutatorian is Ororo Monroe. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Carol Danvers."

As Carol made her way to the podium, she noticed an ominous black cloud approaching the institute. '_I hope we can finish before that cloud gets here', _she thought. Then she began her speech. As she spoke, she noticed the cloud getting nearer. It seemed as if that cloud was determined to rain on the graduation ceremony. After a few moments, she came to her closing. "My fellow graduates, I give you now your Salutatorian, and my friend, Ororo Monroe. Thank you."

When she had returned to her seat, Carol turned around and saw the cloud about to come over head. With a sigh, and looking skyward, she took a deep breath. When she exhaled, there was a gale force wind, which seemed to push the storm cloud away from the institute, just as Ororo began giving her speech. '_That's better,' _she thought, not realizing what she had just done.

**Well that is the end of this chapter. It has been a long time coming and I hope that anyone who reads this will review.**


	15. NEW OPPORTUNITY

****

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics, the X-Men, or Carol Danvers. They all belong to Marvel. Carmen Rodriguez is the original creation of Heartsyhawk. She has graciously loaned her to me for this story.

__

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS

CHAPTER 15

**__**

NEW OPPORTUNITY

Carol sighed. She did not notice that she had blown the storm cloud away from the institute. Fortunately, no one else did either. Ororo gave her speech:

**"I have been here at the Charles Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters for about 5 years now. During this time, I have learned many things about people. One of the most important things I have learned is that to have friends one must be a friend. Today, I learned something else. You never know where the next friend will come from. Someone who may not have been very friendly before can turn out to be a very good friend indeed.**

As you, my fellow graduates, venture into the world, always remember the lessons you have learned at the institute. Take care of your friendships, they may become as important as your family. All of us here have grown a lot. We have learned to cope with difficult situations, the importance of teamwork, the importance of togetherness and the closeness that comes when you put strangers together and teach them to rely on each other. We have learned to examine the beauty of a flower and to fear the deadliness of a spider. We have fought against each other and for each other. Through it all we have become a team, a family to each other. We have learned, or in some cases are still learning, to master our unique abilities. Each of us has the potential to be great on our own. We may or may not individually possess great natural power. Remember this, my friends: A wise man once told a young man, whom I recently met, this adage. "Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. As mutants, we all possess unique abilities. Each of us has the potential to be great. Each of us must also remember that because of our unique abilities, we have a greater responsibility to use those abilities for the betterment of the human race. Just because we are different, we do not have to be conquerors. There are many that will not like us. They fear us or they hate us because we are different. We can not allow our differences to be used in a hateful manner against ourselves or against our fellow humans. And yes, we are all humans. We have been blessed to have unique powers. But wouldn't it be really boring if all human beings were the same? Appreciate your uniqueness, for it will define who you are and what you will become. Congratulations, my fellow graduates and good luck. To those who follow us, always strive to reach for the stars and achieve your goals."

When Ororo finished, she returned to her seat and Professor Xavier returned to the podium. "All I have to say to both of those speeches is Wow! Would you believe that these two girls wrote these words? Such wisdom from high school kids is uncommon. These two girls have led the way their entire careers. Add to the fact that one of them wrote her speech today, after learning of a great personal tragedy this afternoon, makes it even more impressive." Then he motioned for the graduates to rise. "Graduates, when you hear your name called, Please come across the stage from left to right to get your diplomas from Dr. McTaggart and Mr. Logan."

As the students crossed the stage, Carol was staring absently at the sky. Suddenly, she thought she saw a large gathering of what she believed were spaceships. Then just as suddenly, her vision returned to normal. Finally everyone had received their diplomas and the students began leaving the courtyard. As Carol was about to leave the courtyard, she saw the dark cloud heading back to the school. Looking around, she noticed the courtyard was empty. Quickly, she hurried into the mansion to join her classmates. A few seconds later, Carol heard herself being summoned to Professor Xavier's office.

As Carol entered the professor's office, she was somewhat surprised to see Professor Xavier was not alone. Standing next to the professor's wheelchair was a tall, muscular man. He looked to be about 6 feet tall and was solidly built. He was dressed all in black and had an ominous looking eye patch over one eye. His demeanor suggested a military background. Perhaps, he was even a general or someone of high rank. Unconsciously, she shuddered at the sight of him.

Relax, Carol," The professor said. "This is Colonel Fury. He is here to talk to you."

"Miss Danvers first let me say how sorry I was to hear about your family," the man said. "My name is Nick Fury. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I must confess I was surprised at your speech. You listed several super abilities but claimed that you are not a mutant. I checked you out through our database and failed to find out anything significant about you. I do know Joseph and Marie Danvers adopted you. At the same time, there was another girl adopted with you by the name of Betsy. Your sister was apparently a mutant with a healing factor as far as I can tell. In those days, actual birth records for your natural parents were not kept available. I am sorry, but that is all I could find."

"What can I tell you, Mr. Fury? You seem to know as much of my origins as I do," Carol said. "Just what is shield, anyway and what do you want with me?"

S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. We are a multi-government-sponsored agency. My division is responsible for monitoring and regulating people with extraordinary abilities, whether they are mutants or otherwise. We also are engaged in antiterrorism and law enforcement actions. As for what I am doing here, I always attend Xavier's graduation ceremonies in order to see how his mutant students are developing. Sometimes, like now, I try to recruit people to work for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What do you mean, work for S.H.I.E.L.D?" Asked Carol.

"First things first, Miss Danvers. You mentioned in your speech that you have not applied to any college. I can help you with that little issue. S.H.I.E.L.D. is willing to offer you a full scholarship, including tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and all fees to M. I. T. or any other college or university that you choose to attend. In return, you would agree to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. for a minimum of ten years after graduation. Additionally, I can offer you a job now. You would work in my division assisting us in our duties. I can tell you this much. With your abilities, you are a natural for our organization. You will be helping to protect your country and the world from international terrorism and even extraterrestrial forces bent on the destruction of humanity. Does that sound appealing to you, Miss Danvers?"

"The offer of an opportunity for a job is definitely appealing to me. However, I do not have any place to go, right now. I was hoping to go home to Boston, tonight. But ..." Suddenly Carol burst into tears as she realized how alone she really was.

Professor Xavier looked at his pupil. "Carol, you are certainly welcome to stay here at the institute as long as you like. Even if you do decide to take Colonel Fury's offer, this can be your home if you wish."

"Thank you, Professor Xavier. If you don't mind, I would like to stay here for a while anyway. At least until I get my self settled. As for your more than generous offer, Colonel Fury, I really need to think about it for a day or two, if you don't mind," Carol responded. "I am inclined to accept it but I have had a very stressful day and don't want to rush into anything."

"Have you given any thought on where you would like to go to college, Carol?" Professor X asked. " I know that it is quite late, but perhaps Colonel Fury and I can be of some assistance to you in this matter."

"Actually, sir, until you told me today that I had been named valedictorian, I had not thought about college at all. I was planning to go home to Boston and see if I could find a job while I sorted things out for myself. I was even considering joining the air force in the fall. I do know that if I go to college, I want to study Aerospace Engineering. I hope to someday be able to work at NASA. I used to dream of being an astronaut when I was a little girl. I would still very much like to pursue that dream someday. Sally Ride has given me new inspiration."

Abruptly, Carol covered her ears. "So many sounds all at once!" She screamed. "Make them stop, please! **It hurts! Please make them stop."**

Professor Xavier and Colonel Fury exchanged worried glances; neither of them heard anything out of the ordinary. "Carol, what is wrong?" Professor Xavier questioned as he moved his wheelchair over to her. As he reached out for her, Carol fell to the floor, still covering her ears.

"**Too many sounds all at once. I can't make them out. The pain. Make it stop. Owwww!"**

Professor Xavier looked at his stricken pupil, now curled up in a fetal position holding her head. Quickly, he used his telepathic mind to summon Dr. Worthington and Dr Mctaggart into his office. "Colonel, I think this conversation is going to have to be put on hold for a while. It appears that Miss Danvers is experiencing a change in her powers that may need medical intervention. Will you excuse us?"

"I hope she will be okay, Professor. Tell Ms. Danvers to take her time recovering. I'll get back in touch with you later. I will expect a full report, Professor," he said as he exited the professor's office.

Just as Col. Fury was leaving, Drs. Worthington and McTaggart rushed into Xavier's office. In their haste, they nearly knocked Col. Fury to the ground. After helping him back to his feet, they finally allowed him to exit. Dr. Worthington moved over to Carol. By this time, she was beginning to calm down.

"What is going on, Professor?" Dr McTaggart asked.

"It appears that Miss Danvers is experiencing a change in her powers. She was engaged in a conversation with Nick Fury and I regarding her future when she collapsed. She was complaining about so many sounds all at once, even though we did not hear anything out of the ordinary," Professor Xavier said. "I summoned the two of you immediately."

"Did you scan her mind, professor?" Asked Dr. Worthington. "That may give us a clue as to what is wrong."

"No. I have not done so because I don't do that without permission unless it is a life and death emergency situation. While this constituted an emergency, I tried to use my ability to calm her down."

By this time, Carol had become less agitated and quit screaming. "Are you feeling better, Ms. Danvers?" Asked Dr. Worthington.

Carol nodded.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Asked the professor.

Slowly, Carol raised herself up to a sitting position. "It was terrible," she began. "There were many so many sounds flooding my brain all at once, that I could not process anything. It was so loud that it hurt. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor covering my ears. Did I pass out?"

Professor Xavier shook his head. "You did not appear to lose consciousness, Carol."

Dr. Worthington looked at Carol. In his years of practicing, he had never seen a mutant with the ability of super hearing. However, when he was serving his residency in Smallville, he had been present when Super Boy had developed his super hearing. His reaction had been similar to Carol's. Once again he wondered if Carol were somehow related to Super Boy. Once again he dismissed the thought because he thought Super Boy was unique in the world.

"Are you hearing so many sounds now, Carol?" He asked.

"Not really, doctor. Right now, it just seems like there is a low buzzing noise in my ears," Carol answered. "Maybe, my brain is somehow filtering out the noise level." Suddenly, carol's eyes grew very wide. "Oh, my!" She gasped. "Professor, Perhaps you should contact Col. Fury. If what I am seeing is true, there is an extremely large fleet of space ships heading directly towards Earth."

"What kind of spaceships do you see, Carol?" Prodded the professor."And where are they?"

Carol could not believe her eyes or her ears. The professor did not doubt she was seeing spaceships. "Professor, I know this sounds crazy, but it appears that they are near Saturn and heading towards Earth. There appear to be several thousand of these ships, which look like giant sharks with a lot of teeth in a wide-open mouth. It appears that some of the inhabitants of these ships are blue skinned creatures."

"That sounds like Kree warships you are describing, Carol," the professor said. Then he shuddered an involuntary shudder. "I hope that we are wrong on this one."

"Kree Warships?" Carol asked. "What are Kree?"

"The Kree are an alien race who likes to conquer worlds," Professor Xavier replied. "From what you have described seeing, I believe they are planning an invasion of Earth. You are right. Hopefully, Colonel Fury is not too far away." Professor Xavier touched his hands to his temples and appeared to be concentrating very hard. A few seconds later, the telephone rang. Professor Xavier answered the phone. "Hello, Colonel Fury. Carol is doing much better, thank you. She has indeed manifested new powers. One of her powers appears to be some kind of long-distance vision. What she has seen is apparently a large fleet of Kree Warships heading towards Earth. They are currently in the vicinity of Saturn." "Yes, we probably should get in touch with The Fantastic Four as well as the Avengers. You can also count on my X-Men and me as well. Thank you, sir." When he had hung up, the professor turned towards Carol. "That was Colonel fury, Carol. He just checked the interstellar defense grid. You are right. The Kree are on their way, presumably to invade Earth."

****

Dum de Dum Dum... That is all for this chapter. I need reviews. Be sure to read and Review. Thank You.


	16. INVASION

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics, the X-Men, or Carol Danvers. They all belong to Marvel. Carmen Rodriguez is the original creation of Heartsyhawk. She has graciously loaned her to

me for this story.

_**THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS**_

**CHAPTER 16**

**INVASION**

"Tell me about the Kree, Professor. Who are they and why do they want to invade earth?" Carol asked.

Professor Xavier sighed. "The Kree are an alien race. They are similar in appearance to humans. However, they are usually blue skinned and generally have twice the strength and endurance of the average human. They are originally from the planet, Hala. Their planet is in a solar system called the Pama System. It is located in the Greater Magellanic Cloud. Their planet was shared by another intelligent species, the Cotati. The Cotati were a plant-like species. During the course of time, the Skrulls, another Alien race, discovered Hala. The Skrulls set up a contest between the Kree and the Cotati. When the Cotati were named the victors of the contest, The Kree were enraged and murdered the Skrull contact team as well as exterminated the Cotati. The Kree then stole Skrull Starship technology and launched the Kree-Skrull war. This war went on for eons. During this war, they began building an intergalactic empire."

"And like all empire builders, they continually want more than they already have," observed Carol. "Professor, I want to join the X-Men. I know I am not a mutant, but you have helped me and I want to help your team in this fight. I am ready to begin training immediately. **The Kree have no business trying to conquer our world and I will do everything in my power to see that they are not successful!"**

"That is an excellent suggestion, Carol," the professor replied. "And your training by the X-men will serve you in good stead when you begin working for S.H.I.E.LD."

"While we are on the subject of S.H.I.E.L.D., professor, please tell me about this organization. I got the feeling that Colonel Fury was not giving me all the facts that I may need to know."

Just then, Logan walked into the room. "Very astute observation, fly-girl," He commented dryly. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a secret multi-government black box project. Supposedly, they are supposed to look out for super-powered beings and try to maintain the balance of power for the good guys. If you ask me, however, they don't do such a hot job in that department. Like most secret black box projects, they have some major issues with regards to corruption of their ideals. And because they are so secret, their funding can be shady at best. I will say that they are probably the most straight shooting black box project I have ever seen. Eye Patch Fury is as honest as they come for government agents. He served in World War Two and is highly decorated."

When Logan finished, Carol noticed that several other members of the X-Men had entered the room.

"X-men, I have summoned you here for two reasons," Professor Xavier began. "First, all of you know Carol. She has been a student here for several years. Today, she has formally asked to join our team. While she knows she is not a mutant; we could find no trace of an X-Gene; she is still a super-powered being with a need to understand her powers. That is the primary purpose of Xavier's school of gifted youngsters: To help people to understand their gifts no matter what their origin. The second reason is that Carol has provided us a warning. Our planet is about to be invaded by the Kree. She has seen their ships near Saturn. Colonel Fury has also been informed. He is gathering up the Avengers and the Fantastic Four along with any other Super-heroes he can find. We do not have much time. Kree ships are capable of being here within days. The Kree do not know we have been warned. The element of surprise is in our favor. I need everyone in the danger room in five minutes. We will run an invasion simulation to prepare for the battle ahead."

Cyclops looked at Carol. "Welcome to the team, Carol."

Shadow Cat and Boom-Boom ran over to their new teammate. "Like, wow. Have you thought of a codename for yourself?" Kitty asked.

Carol thought about it for a moment. "Not really. What do you think?"

Tabitha (Boom-Boom) looked at her friend. "With what you are able to do, we should call you Miss Marvel."

Carol was deep in thought. "What?"

"You know, you can fly, you can see things far away, you can see through things, you have super speed, and super strength and you are invulnerable. A real marvel."

Kitty laughed. "That suits you well, Carol."

Carol Smiled. "Ms. Marvel, it is then. By the way, why not something like Marvel Girl?" She asked timidly.

At that moment, young Jean Grey joined them as they made their way to the danger room. "Because, Carol, I'm Marvel Girl," she said. "Welcome to the team."

Soon everyone had assembled in the Danger Room. Professor Xavier wheeled forward along with Mr. Logan. "The simulation is programmed. Your mission will be to work as a team to defeat the alien invaders. Feel free to use whatever abilities you have in this endeavor. This simulation has had some of the usual safeguards removed. You may be able to get injured in this exercise. Take Care, all of you."

Just then the Danger Room turned very dark. A large fleet of spaceships filled the air. Instantly, Carol and Jean Grey ascended into the air. Carol immediately flew towards the lead ship. As she reached the ship, her eyes began to glow a bright red. Suddenly twin beams erupted from her eyes and the lead ship was vaporized. Flying through the fleet, she started punching holes in several of the ships. Cyclops was using his optic blasts as well. Jean Grey was using her telekinetic ability to also bring down ships. Once the ships were on the ground, the other X-men were actively using their abilities to finish the destruction of the enemy ships. After about an hour, the last of the invading ships were destroyed. As the danger room started to lighten up, a computerized voice said "simulation complete."

"Well done, My X-Men. You have succeeded in your mission." Professor Xavier said. "Carol, you appeared to show a new power. Do you know what I mean?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, professor," Carol answered.

"When you approached the lead ship, your eyes began to glow bright red. Then twin red beams flew out of your eyes and the lead ship was vaporized. At the same time the air temperature around you increased to a very hot level."

Doctor Worthington then entered the room. "I believe it is called Heat Vision. Carol has the ability to incinerate almost anything with this power. While using heat vision, the air in front of her eyes reached a temperature of 1000 degrees celsius. Carol did not feel it because she is invulnerable. Her movements through the fleet caused the air to cool once she wasn't using her heat vision anymore."

Everyone looked at Ms. Marvel with a new-found respect. As her new teammates came up to her, Carol's eyes suddenly grew wide. She looked at the ceiling. She saw the Kree fleet once again. The invasion fleet had engaged another fleet in battle.

Professor Xavier looked at Carol as her eyes grew wider and wider. "What is wrong, Carol?" He asked. "What are you seeing?"

"I'm not sure Professor. I see the same fleet of ships. They appear to be battling with another fleet of ships in the asteroid belt. There is a lot of destruction going on up there." Carol answered.

Professor Xavier looked alarmed. "Tell me exactly what you are seeing, Carol. Describe the ships which are now fighting the Kree?"

"Well, Professor, it would appear that these ships are rather long. They have a circular front which appears to be quite tall. These ships are well armed. Although there appear to be fewer of them than the Kree ships, they are more than holding their own and taking out a lot of the Kree fleet. These ships are very similar to their Kree counterparts except they look like a cross between a helicopter gunship and a giant whale. The inhabitants are green skinned with giant bug eyes. It appears that they too were heading towards Earth when they ran into the Kree."

"Hmmm," Professor Xavier said. "From your description, The other ships would appear to be Skrull vessels. It would appear that the Skrull-Kree war has resumed and made its way to our galaxy. That or both empires have decided to invade Earth and ran into each other on the way. Either way it is not good news. I must let Colonel Fury know about these developments."

Just then, the doorbell rang. In the Xavier mansion, when the door bell rings, the sound reverberates throughout the building. Very seldom was this sound heard as the students and the X-men tried to keep to themselves as much as possible. Professor Xavier reached out with his mind to determine the identity of the person at the door. To his surprise, he found many minds out there. It was a group of super-powered beings. Suddenly there was the sound of a large helicopter gunship descending upon the grounds. "_Too late to call Fury now," _he thought. "We have guests, my X-Men."

The X-men left the danger room and made their way to the elevator. Once upstairs, they found one of the students opening the door. In rushed a group of costumed individuals, led by a man dressed in red, white and blue.

Logan had made his way to the front of the group, his claws extending with a loud '**snikt' **as he approached the incoming group.

"Woah, there. It's good to see you, too, Logan!" exclaimed the man in red, white and blue as he raised his shield. "It's me."

The feral mutant sniffed the air and then relaxed. Putting his claws away, Logan smiled. "Sorry, Cap. We don't get too many visitors here and it's my job to protect these kids."

"Apology accepted, Logan. From what Nick Fury has told us, we may all need protection. The Kree are coming."

Just then, Professor Xavier wheeled his way through the group, accompanied by Carol. "I am afraid it is worse than that, Captain," he said. "The Kree may be only part of the problem. If they get through their present skirmish, they will be very formidable indeed."

"What do you mean, their present skirmish, Professor?" asked a man clad in red and gold armor.

"Well, Iron Man, at the present time, the Kree are engaged in a battle with the Skrulls in the asteroid belt. They are both taking heavy casualties. The winner of this battle will be a formidable foe for all of us," Professor Xavier replied. "You are wondering how we know this. Allow me to introduce the newest member of the X-men. This young woman is known to us as Ms. Marvel. She has abilities far beyond those of your average mutant. One of her abilities is a kind of long-distance vision. She has seen the battle with her own eyes. She described the ships and their occupants to me. That is how we know."

"He is correct, Iron Man!" bellowed a voice. Every one turned to see Colonel Fury striding through the door. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has just detected two fleets engaged in battle in the asteroid belt. The two fleets are Skrull and Kree warships."

At this pronouncement, one of the costumed newcomers, went pale. "I must go," he said. Sobbing, the man ran back through the door and leapt into the sky.

"What is going on?" asked Tabitha. Just who was that?"

"That was our guest, Captain Marvell," replied Captain America. "My guess is that he is trying at this very moment to prevent the invasion of Earth."

"And why would you think that, Cap?" asked Logan.

"Because my friend, Captain Marvell is a Kree Warrior who has been on earth for a long time and has come to think of our planet as his home."

"That is all very well, Captain America. However, the security of Earth will likely depend on all of us. We can not depend on Captain Marvell to secure the peace for us.," replied Nick Fury. "Now let's get started."

At that moment, another group of costume clad individuals landed on the lawn. Among them was the Fantastic Four along with a man dressed all in red along with another one dressed in red and blue. "Can we join you all in this little party?" asked the man known as Mr. Fantastic.

"Of course, Mr. Richards. You are all welcome. And who are your two friends you brought with you?" asked Professor Xavier.

Reed looked at the two costumed individuals. This is Dare Devil," he said, pointing to the man in red, "and this is..."

"Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman," quipped the man in red and blue. "I understand that we have a pest invasion coming here. Spiders are great pest exterminators," he joked.

Just then, the skies grew dark. Suddenly there were thousands of large vessels descending from the heavens. Ororo Monroe, Carol Danvers and Jean Gray immediately flew into the sky. They were quickly followed by Iron Man, Thor and the Human Torch.

As she flew into the sky, Carol focused her eyes on the lead ship. Less than a second later, two bright red beams shot from her eyes and incinerated the lead ship. Keeping her eyes focused on the approaching invasion force, she began sweeping the sky with her heat vision. Every time the beams came into contact with a ship there was an explosion. Carol relaxed her eyes and looked around her. The Kree were firing pulsar cannons at her and the rest of the sky bound heroes. As she looked to her left, She saw Thor and Ororo combine their energies to whip up a ferocious electrical storm. To her right she saw Iron Man and The Human Torch incinerating Kree vessels. A smile formed on her lips and she sped directly into the oncoming fleet. Suddenly, her fists were furiously and rapidly punching their way through Kree ships, forcing them to land on the Earth below where the remaining heroes were waiting to engage them in battle. As she approached one Kree vessel, the captain at the helm saluted her and flew away from her. He was soon followed back into space by the remainder of the Kree fleet. As the action subsided, Carol found herself descending to the Earth where her new teammates were waiting.

**That is it for this chapter. Please take a minute and review. Thank you.**


End file.
